IC-NRLF 


FAMOUS  ACTORS  OF  THE  DAY 

IN  AMERICA 


Stage  Lovers'  Series 

Famous  Actors  of  the  Day,  in  America 
Famous  Actresses  of  the  Day,  in  America 

* 
L.  C  PAGE  AND  COMPANY 

(Incorporated) 

2(2  Summer  Street,  Boston,  Mass. 


Famous  Actors 

of  the  Dayv;j 

in  America 

By 

Lewis   C.   Strang 

ILLUSTRATED 


Boston 
L.  C.  Page  and  Company 

(Incorporated) 
1900 


Copyright,  1899 
BY  L.  C.  PAGE  AND  COMPANY 

(INCORPORATED) 
All  rights  reserved 


Colonial 

Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  C.  H.  Simonds  &  Co 
Boston,  U.  S.  A. 


PREFACE. 


"  FAMOUS  ACTORS,"  as  a  companion  volume 
to  "Famous  Actresses,"  follows  the  general 
plan  of  that  book.  The  criticisms  and  esti- 
mates of  the  different  players'  abilities,  ex- 
cept in  cases  where  credit  is  given,  are  the 
author's  own.  The  biographical  facts,  in- 
terviews, and  anecdotes  were  obtained  from 
various  sources.  They  have  in  all  cases 
been  carefully  verified,  and  the  imaginings 
of  the  press  agent  have  been  scrupulously 
ruled  out.  In  selecting  the  list  of  persons 
to  be  considered  in  the  work,  those  actors 
most  prominent  on  the  American  stage  to- 
day were  given  the  preference,  and  conse- 
quently it  was  found  necessary  to  omit  a 
number  whose  past  achievements  give  them 
high  rank  in  their  profession.  L.  c.  s. 


CONTENTS. 


PREFACE          .        .  .  .  •       ix 

I.  JOSEPH  JEFFERSON  .  •  •  :*      n 

II.  JAMES  A.  HERNE     .  .  ^  .      18 

III.  RICHARD  MANSFIELD  .  ;  .      36 

IV.  E.  M.  HOLLAND      .  .  .  ;      58 
V.  EDWARD  H.  SOTHERN  .  .  .70 

VI.  JOHN  DREW     .       >  .  .  .      84 

VII.  WILLIAM  FAVERSHAM  .  .  .      94 

VIII.  JOHN  B.  MASON      V  3.<  •  *    "o 

IX.  NAT  C.  GOODWIN    .  .  *  .     119 

X.  JAMES  O'NEILL        .  .  .  .136 

XI.  WILLIAM  H.  CRANE  .  .  .     149 

XII.  WILTON  LACK  AYE   .  .  .  .166 

XIII.  WILLIAM  GILLETTE  V  .  .     174 

XIV.  HENRY  MILLER       .  ,  ,  .     190 
XV.  JAMES  K.  HACKETT  .  .  .    200 


VI 


Contents. 


CHAPTER 

XVI.  HENRY  JEWETT 

XVII.  STUART  ROBSON 

XVIII.  MELBOURNE  MACDOWELL 

XIX.  SOL  SMITH  RUSSELL 

XX.  OTIS  SKINNER  .        .        . 

XXI.  J.  E.  DODSON  .        .        . 

XXII.  ROBERT  B.  MANTELL    .  * 

XXIII.  ROLAND  REED 

XXIV.  JOSEPH  HAWORTH    .      .  , 
XXV.  HERBERT  KELCEY   . 


PAGE 

211 

223 
238 
248 
260 
278 
288 
297 

311 
326 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

JOSEPH  JEFFERSON  AS  RIP  VAN  WINKLE    Frontispiece 
JAMES  A.  HERNE  AS  THE  REV.  GRIFFITH  DAVEN- 
PORT .        .       ,        .        .....        .  18 

RICHARD  MANSFIELD  AS  DICK  DUDGEON  IN  "  THE 

DEVIL'S  DISCIPLE"  .        ....,-.  36 

E.  M.  HOLLAND       .        .        .        .  •-.'-..'.      .        .  58 

EDWARD  H.  SOTHERN  AS  D  'ARTAGNAN  IN  "  THE 

KING'S  MUSKETEER"        .        .        .        * ."    (  .  70 

JOHN  DREW     .        .        .        .        .        .    '    ;        .  84 

WILLIAM  FAVERSHAM  AS   ERIC  VON  RODECK  IN 

"  THE  CONQUERORS  "             .        .  '  _  .        .94 
JOHN  B.  MASON  IN  "  SHENANDOAH  "    .        .        .  no 
NAT  C.  GOODWIN  AS  DAVID  GARRICK         .        .  119 
JAMES  O  'NEILL  AS  D  'ARTAGNAN  IN  "  THE  MUS- 
KETEERS"         .        .        .        .        .        .        .  136 

WILLIAM  H.  CRANE  AS  FALSTAFF        .        .        .  149 

WILTON  LACKAYE  AS  SVENGALI  IN  "TRILBY"    .  166 

WILLIAM  GILLETTE  IN  "  SECRET  SERVICE  "         .  174 

HENRY  MILLER  IN  "LIBERTY  HALL".        .        .  190 

JAMES  K.  HACKETT        .        .        ...        .  200 

9 


io  List  of  Illustrations. 

PAGE 

HENRY  JEWETT       .        .        .        .        .        .       .211 

STUART    ROBSON  AS  BERTIE  IN   "  THE   HENRI- 
ETTA"        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .223 

MELBOURNE  MACDOWELL       .        .       .        .        .  238 

SOL  SMITH  RUSSELL  AS  DOCTOR  PANGLOSS  IN 

"THE  HEIR-AT-LAW" 248 

OTIS  SKINNER  AS  SHYLOCK  IN  "  THE  MERCHANT 

OF  VENICE"      .        .        .        .        .       ^        .  260 
J.  E.   DODSON  AS  JOHN   WEATHERSBY  IN  "  BE- 
CAUSE SHE  LOVED  HIM  So".                .        .  278 
ROBERT  B.  MANTELL  IN  "THE  CORSICAN  BROTH- 
ERS"          .        .        .  288 

ROLAND  REED ••',.-    . -.    ..  297 

JOSEPH  HAWORTH  AS  HAMLET      .        .       ...     .  311 

HERBERT  KELCEY    ......  326 


FAMOUS  ACTORS  OF  THE  DAY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

JOSEPH    JEFFERSON. 

BELOVED  by  the  public  as  no  American 
actor  ever  was  before,  and  —  what  is  a  far 
greater  tribute  to  the  man  as  apart  from 
the  artist  —  honoured  and  respected  as  a 
private  citizen,  Joseph  Jefferson  is  passing 
the  declining  years  of  his  life,  surrounded  by 
an  affectionate  family  and  loyal  friends. 
Neither  shaft  of  envy  nor  barb  of  malice 
assails  him,  for  such  affluence  as  he  enjoys 
was  won  by  arduous  and  conscientious  en- 
deavour. His  life,  one  of  hardships  and  dis- 
ii 


12  Famous  Actors. 

couraging  struggles,  is  crowned  with  a  success 
fairly  and  honestly  achieved.  Greatest  bless- 
ing of  all,  that  marvellous  art,  born  of  a  sym- 
pathetic and  lovely  character,  nurtured  by 
suffering  and  humiliation,  —  an  art  that  is 
i-atui  e"-s  ^odcrrilvl,  —  stands  to-day  as  perfect 
as  ever ;  his  personality,  whose  pervading 
humour  and  kindly  pathos  flash  between 
laughter  and  tears,  retains  all  its  charm ; 
the  twinkling  eyes  are  keen  and  sparkling, 
and  sweet  amiability  shines  brightly  on  a 
countenance  that  even  with  its  wrinkles  is 
fresh  and  youthful.  Surely  Joseph  Jeffer- 
son's is  an  ideal  old  age. 

At  this  late  day  it  is  hardly  necessary  to 
tell  with  any  elaboration  the  story  of  Mr. 
Jefferson's  theatrical  career,  —  his  autobiog- 
raphy has  done  that  once  and  for  all,  —  and 
the  few  facts  that  follow  are  merely  land- 
marks on  his  life  journey.  Born  in  Philadel- 
phia on  February  20,  1829,  the  fourth 
Jefferson  in  direct  line  from  the  one  that 


Joseph  Jefferson.  13 

made  the  name  famous  in  the  noteworthy 
days  of  the  London  Drury  Lane  Theatre,  he 
made  his  first  appearance  on  the  stage  in 
Washington,  at  the  age  of  three  years,  as 
"  Jim  Crow  "  at  a  benefit  given  to  Dan  Rice. 
His  youth  and  early  manhood  were  passed 
amid  all  the  poverty  and  privations  endured 
by  a  barnstorming  theatrical  company  that 
wandered  here  and  there  throughout  the 
sparsely  settled  regions  of  the  West  and 
South.  During  the  Mexican  War  he  shared 
the  fortunes  of  General  Taylor's  army,  acting 
wherever  night  found  him,  and  selling  coffee 
and  cakes  to  the  soldiers  during  the  day. 
In  the  years  that  followed  he  played  with  all 
the  great  actors  of  the  time,  the  elder  Booth, 
McCready,  the  Wallacks,  Murdoch,  and 
Edwin  Forrest.  In  1856  he  made  his  first 
visit  to  England  and  France.  On  his  return 
in  1857,  he  became  principal  comedian  at 
Laura  Keene's  theatre  in  New  York,  where 
he  acted  Doctor  Pangloss  in  "The  Heir-at- 


14  Famous  Actors. 

Law,"  and  created  the  character  of  Asa 
Trenchard  in  "Our  American  Cousin,"  in 
which  he  afterward  starred.  At  Dion  Bouci- 
cault's  Winter  Garden  Theatre,  in  New  York, 
he  played  Caleb  Plummer  in  "  The  Cricket 
on  the  Hearth,"  and  Salem  Scudder  in  "  The 
Octoroon."  Mr.  Jefferson  first  became  in- 
terested in  his  great  part  of  Rip  Van  Winkle 
in  1859,  wnen  he  read  Washington  Irving's 
story.  The  character  immediately  formed 
itself  in  his  mind,  and  his  first  version  of 
the  tale  was  produced  that  year,  but  met  with 
no  great  success.  He  then  went  to  Austra- 
lia, and  while  returning  home,  by  way  of 
England,  he  met  in  London  Dion  Boucicault, 
who  worked  over  the  Rip  Van  Winkle  play 
into  its  present  form.  Mr.  Jefferson  first 
presented  the  new  version  in  London,  where 
its  success  was  startling.  It  was  accorded  a 
similar  reception  in  this  country,  and  since 
that  time  Mr.  Jefferson's  name  has  been 
identified  with  the  r61e.  Since  the  death  of 


Joseph  Jefferson.  1 5 

William  J.  Florence,  with  whom  he  was  asso- 
ciated in  "The  Rivals"  and  "The  Heir-at- 
Law,"  Mr.  Jefferson  has  limited  his  theatrical 
engagements  to  a  few  weeks  each  season, 
during  which  time  he  has  appeared  only  in 
the  most  important  cities. 

Joseph  Jefferson  is  a  comedian  with  a  rare 
gift  of  pathos  and  an  extraordinary  talent  for 
character  delineation.  Although  the  modern 
stage  knows  him  in  but  four  parts,  —  Rip 
Van  Winkle,  Bob  Acres,  Doctor  Pangloss,  and 
Caleb  Plummer,  —  the  universality  of  his  gen- 
ius for  comedy  remains  unquestioned  and  un- 
doubted. It  is  useless  to  try  to  analyse  his 
acting,  for  the  spell  he  weaves  about  those  that 
submit  themselves  to  his  enchantment  abso- 
lutely nullifies  the  critical  faculty.  The  illu- 
sion created  is  complete  ;  the  actor's  art  seems 
simply  nature,  and  no  one  ever  thinks  of  such 
things  as  conception  or  method.  Indeed,  so 
great  is  his  spontaneity  that  he  sometimes 
deceives  his  audience.  I  remember  the  first 


1 6  Famous  Actors. 

time  I  saw  him  in  "  Rip  Van  Winkle"  I  was 
disappointed.  I  missed  the  ear-marks  of  the 
acting  to  which  I  was  accustomed,  and  I 
could  not  at  that  time  appreciate  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son's unfamiliar  realism.  I  thought  that  he 
was  "  faking "  the  part  atrociously.  Of 
course,  I  laughed  and  cried  with  the  rest, 
but  the  impression  that  he  was  not  using  his 
audience  quite  fairly  stayed  with  me  until  I 
again  saw  him  act  the  part.  The  spontaneity, 
I  found,  was  there  as  before,  and  I  was 
amazed  to  see  the  same  gestures  repeated 
and  to  hear  the  same  words  spoken.  So  it 
was  with  Bob  Acres,  in  whom,  however,  I 
looked  in  vain  for  a  suggestion  of  the  vaga- 
bond Rip ;  and  so  it  was  also  with  Doctor 
Pangloss,  whose  glowing  urbanity  I  shall 
never  forget.  I  know  only  one  regret  when 
I  think  of  Joseph  Jefferson.  What  a  gal- 
lery of  artistic  creations  might  have  been  his 
had  his  professional  life  in  this  country  been 
passed  in  some  national  institution  similar  to 


Joseph  Jefferson.  1 7 

the    Come"die   Franchise!       Alas,     that   we 
should  be  so  much  the  loser ! 

From  time  immemorial  it  has  been  the 
custom  to  give  to  the  tragedian  the  position 
of  highest  rank  and  of  greatest  honour  in 
the  theatrical  world.  His  province  it  is  to 
portray  the  fierce  passions  and  mighty  emo- 
tions of  mankind,  passions  and  emotions 
which,  when  freed,  rush  forth  an  impetuous 
and  ungovernable  torrent,  crushing,  rending, 
and  marring.  The  tragedian  awes  by  his 
magnificence,  but  we  do  not  love  him. 
Occupying  a  trifle  less  prominent  niche  in 
the  temple  of  art,  but  thrice  more  firmly 
established  in  our  affections,  is  the  comedian, 
who,  like  Joseph  Jefferson,  pictures  with 
absolute  fidelity,  yet  so  sympathetically,  so 
idealistically,  the  sorrows  and  joys  of  every- 
day life,  whose  cheerfulness  and  good  nature 
cause  humanity  to  rejoice,  and  whose  tears 
are  like  April  showers,  which  pass  quickly 
and  leave  behind  a  world  cleansed  and  smiling. 


CHAPTER   II. 

JAMES  A.  HERNE. 

ON  January  16,  1899,  James  A.  Herne 
produced  in  Washington  a  play  which  he 
called  "The  Rev.  Griffith  Davenport,"  and 
which  was  a  dramatisation  of  Helen  Garde- 
ner's novel,  "An  Unofficial  Patriot."  The 
Washington  papers  could  find  no  good  in  the 
work,  and  their  opinion  was  reiterated  in 
Baltimore  and  New  York.  Then  Mr.  Herne 
came  to  Boston  with  his  new  play,  which,  by 
this  time,  he  had  renamed  "  Griffith  Daven- 
port," and  there  he  met  a  kinder  reception. 
Most  of  the  critics  praised  the  drama  as  a 
courageous  and  artistic  effort,  and  a  few  of 
them  considered  it  a  play  that  could  fairly  be 
iS 


JAMES    A.    HERNE 
As  The  Rev.  Griffith  Davenport. 


James  A.  Herne.  19 

termed  great.  The  public,  however,  relig- 
iously stayed  away  from  the  theatre  during 
Mr.  Herne's  two  weeks'  engagement,  though 
an  increased  attendance  at  the  last  three  or 
four  performances  gave  a  faint  promise  of 
awakening  interest.  "  Griffith  Davenport," 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  man  in  the  ticket 
office,  was  last  season's  most  disastrous  fail- 
ure, for  Mr.  Herne,  who  firmly  believed  in 
the  worth  of  his  drama,  gave  it  every  advan- 
tage in  the  way  of  an  elaborate  production, 
beautiful  scenery,  unique  and  appropriate 
costumes,  and  a  splendid  cast.  Yet,  in  the 
face  of  the  public  verdict  so  emphatically 
rendered,  I  am  convinced  that  "Griffith 
Davenport"  is  not  only  the  strongest  and 
most  artistic  drama  written  by  an  American 
playwright  during  the  past  decade,  but  I 
would  even  go  a  step  farther,  and  declare  that 
up  to  the  last  act  it  is  the  greatest  American 
play  ever  produced. 

Certain  it  is  that  "  Griffith  Davenport "  is 


2O  Famous  Actors. 

by  far  the  most  serious  and  the  most  sincere 
drama  that  has  been  inspired  by  the  Civil 
War.  It  is  an  honest  attempt  to  set  forth  on 
the  stage  the  causes  that  led  to  that  tremen- 
dous conflict,  to  picture  without  sensational- 
ism the  horrors  that  the  struggle  brought, 
especially  to  families  rent  in  twain  by  the 
warring  convictions  of  their  individual  mem- 
bers, and  lastly,  to  show  that  even  in  a  nation 
torn  asunder  there  could  be  discerned  the 
elements  that  made  possible  the  final  recon- 
ciliation. The  play  is  as  far  removed  from 
the  conventional  war  drama,  such  as  Bronson 
Howard's  "  Shenandoah,"  as  it  is  possible  to 
imagine.  It  is  absolutely  without  a  taint  of 
theatricalism,  and  the  loftiness  of  Mr.  Herne's 
aim  is  apparent,  even  to  those  that  believe 
his  effort  misapplied  and  futile.  For  one,  I 
know  that  for  four  acts  it  moved  me  mightily. 
Moreover,  it  brought  home  to  me  with  start- 
ling vividness  the  awful  tragedy  of  that 
period  of  the  country's  history,  and  I  realised 


James  A.  Herne.  21 

the  meaning  of  that  war  with  a  force  and  a 
conviction  never  before  experienced. 

Mr.  H erne's  theories  of  dramatic  art  are 
well  known.  He  believes  in  literally  holding 
the  mirror  up  to  nature ;  he  believes  that  his 
mimic  life  on  the  stage  should  be  in  detail 
and  in  effect  a  reproduction  of  the  real  life 
of  the  workaday  world ;  he  does  not  believe 
in  dramatic  climaxes,  as  the  term  is  con- 
ventionally applied,  and  he  does  not  believe 
in  manufactured  situations.  This  is  realism, 
as  Mr.  Herne  interprets  it.  "Griffith  Dav- 
enport "  is  written  in  complete  accordance 
with  its  author's  theories,  and  consequently 
the  dramatist  flings  the  gauntlet  full  in  the 
face  of  stage  tradition.  It  was  a  gloriously 
daring  experiment,  and  Mr.  Herne  surely 
proved  that  a  drama,  devoid  of  extraneous 
climaxes,  might  be  crowded  with  the  most 
absorbing  dramatic  interest  and  full  of  the 
most  thrilling  dramatic  situations,  situations 
whose  power  seemed  all  the  stronger  because 


22  Famous  Actors. 

they    stood    forth    naked    in    their   human 
reality. 

The  first  three  acts  are  in  wonderful  unity. 
They  cover  the  period  between  April  and 
November,  1860,  and  picture  with  impar- 
tiality the  good  and  bad  sides  of  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery.  The  atmosphere  is  almost 
perfectly  sustained,  and  the  scenes  among 
the  slaves,  the  reproduction  of  the  soft  Vir- 
ginian dialect,  the  picturing  of  the  delicate 
courtesy  and  old-fashioned  gentility  of  the 
women,  and  the  gallantry  of  the  men  all  show 
stage  art  at  its  best.  The  central  figure  is 
Davenport,  circuit-preacher,  owner  of  slaves 
inherited  from  his  father,  and  abolitionist  by 
conviction.  The  implacability  of  the  "  insti- 
tution "  is  early  indicated  when  Davenport's 
kindness  of  heart  and  sympathetic  nature 
force  him,  against  his  will  and  in  opposition 
to  his  professed  principles,  to  buy  a  negro, 
the  husband  of  one  of  his  own  slaves,  whom 
his  master  is  about  to  sell  to  satisfy  a  gam- 


James  A.  Herne.  23 

bling  debt.  The  division  in  Davenport's  own 
household  is  tragic,  a  division  of  honest  con- 
viction, be  it  understood,  and  unaccompanied 
by  loss  of  affection  or  of  mutual  respect.  On 
one  side  is  the  father  and  the  younger  son ; 
on  the  other,  the  loving  mother  and  the  im- 
petuous elder  brother.  The  first  clash  comes 
when  Davenport  attempts  to  free  his  slaves, 
who,  in  their  state  of  childish  dependence, 
cannot  comprehend  what  freedom  means,  and 
the  growing  animosity  to  Davenport  among 
his  neighbours  culminates  on  the  day  Lin- 
coln is  elected,  when  the  obnoxious  abolition- 
ist is  forcibly  driven  from  his  home.  The 
curtain  of  the  third  act,  following  Davenport's 
prayer  after  receiving  the  notice  of  expulsion, 
and  the  wonderful  realism  of  the  fourth  act 
-Davenport's  comments  on  the  inaccu- 
racies in  the  only  map  that  the  Federals 
have  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley ;  the  great 
import  of  Governor  Morton's  words,  when  he 
said,  referring  to  the  defeat  of  Bull  Run  and 


24  Famous  Actors. 

Davenport's  knowledge  of  the  locality,  "You 
could  have  prevented  that  disaster ; "  the 
pathos  of  Davenport's  parting  with  his  wife 
after  he  has  consented  to  lead  the  Union 
army  through  the  valleys  and  over  the  hills 
and  among  the  friends  that  he  loves  so  well, 
—  are  especially  notable  features  of  this 
remarkable  drama. 

Mr.  Herne's  impersonation  of  the  circuit- 
preacher  is  that  of  a  master  of  the  art  of 
suggestion,  and  it  is  a  character  study  of 
remarkable  completeness.  Davenport  is  so 
essentially  human  that  at  times  he  creates  in 
the  spectator's  mind  the  same  irritation  that 
one  feels  toward  a  public  man  who  seeks  to 
dodge  a  knotty  political  problem  by  quibbling 
or  by  begging  the  question.  Davenport,  high- 
minded,  sincere,  and  fearless,  but  with  the 
spirit  of  the  South  strong  within  him,  refuses 
for  a  long  time  to  acknowledge  the  attitude 
toward  his  old  friends  and  neighbours  that 
logic  and  his  own  sense  of  right  and  justice 


James  A.  Herne.  25 

must  inevitably  cause  him  to  assume.  After 
his  attempt  to  free  his  slaves  he  is  asked  :  "  In 
case  of  war  between  the  North  and  the  South, 
what  are  you  going  to  do  ?  "  "I  shall  be  neu- 
tral," is  his  reply.  Squire  Nelson,  speaking 
with  the  voice  of  fate,  answers  :  "  There  can 
be  no  neutrality  ;  you  must  be  for  us  or 
against  us."  But  Davenport  only  shakes  his 
head.  He  cannot  follow  his  own  reasoning 
sufficiently  far  to  see  himself  an  enemy  to  his 
people.  Nor  has  he  fully  realised  the  inevi- 
table two  years  later,  when  Governor  Morton 
tells  him  that  he  must  guide  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  through  his  beloved  Shenan- 
doah  Valley.  Again  Davenport  says,  "  I  am 
neutral."  Morton  throws  at  him  that  indict- 
ment regarding  Bull  Run,  and  at  last  Daven- 
port's eyes  are  opened,  and  he  takes  up  the 
burden  of  his  duty.  How  true  to  life  is  this 
development  of  Davenport's  character!  In 
contrast  to  Davenport's  halting  grasp  of  the 
part  he  must  play  in  the  conflict  is  the 


26  Famous  Actors. 

full  comprehension  vouchsafed  Davenport's 
younger  son,  the  serious-minded  Roy.  A 
boy  in  years,  unfettered  by  tradition,  and  less 
moved  than  his  father  by  environment  and 
by  consequences,  he  reaches  instinctively  the 
conclusion  that  his  father  is  so  reluctantly 
forced  to  admit.  When  the  elder  brother, 
Beverly,  declares,  without  personal  animosity 
and  without  heroics,  that  if  he  should  find 
Roy  fighting  the  South  he  would  shoot  him 
quicker  than  he  would  a  Yankee,  —  mean- 
ing, of  course,  that  he  would  look  upon  the 
younger  son  as  a  traitor,  —  Roy  answers, 
with  quiet  intensity  that  proclaims  the  fixity 
of  his  purpose:  "I  certainly  shall  have  to 
give  you  the  chance." 

The  last  act  of  "Griffith  Davenport"  I 
consider  wholly  at  variance  with  the  drama 
as  a  whole.  It  is  melodramatic  in  tone,  but, 
worse  than  that,  it  is  superlatively  anticli- 
matic  and  a  most  serious  detriment  to  the 
effect  of  the  play.  I  can  follow  Mr.  H erne's 


James  A.  Herne.  27 

realism  for  a  considerable  distance,  and  I  can 
appreciate  his  efforts  to  avoid  the  conven- 
tional, but  I  cannot  allow  that  an  anticlimax 
is  a  virtue.  Far  better  make  Davenport  a 
martyr  to  the  cause  than  have  the  curtain  fall 
on  a  sentimental  discourse. 

James  A.  Herne  was  born  in  Troy,  New 
York,  on  February  i,  1 840,  and  has  been  on 
the  stage  over  forty  years.  His  first  appear- 
ance was  made  at  the  Adelphi  Theatre,  Troy, 
in  1859,  as  George  Shelby  in  "Uncle  Tom's 
Cabin."  He  remained  in  his  native  city  for 
two  seasons,  and  then  went  to  Baltimore, 
where  he  played  in  the  Holliday  Street 
Theatre  for  three  years.  During  that  time 
he  delivered  the  address  at  the  opening  of 
Ford's  Theatre,  Washington,  in  which  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  was  afterward  assassinated. 
After  leaving  the  Baltimore  company  he 
travelled  as  leading  man  with  the  beautiful 
Susan  Denning,  and  then  went  to  California, 
as  did  all  the  best  Eastern  actors,  including 


28  Famous  Actors. 

Edwin  Booth  and  Lawrence  Barrett.  As  long 
ago  as  1869,  Mr.  Herne  managed  a  theatre  in 
New  York,  the  Grand  Opera  House.  On 
July  17,  1866,  he  married  Helen  Western, 
and  as  leading  man  for  his  sister-in-law, 
Lucille  Western,  Mr.  Herne  succeeded  E.  L. 
Davenport,  playing  Bill  Sykes  to  Miss  West- 
ern's Nancy  in  "  Oliver  Twist,"  and  Francis 
Levison  to  her  Lady  Isabelle.  It  was  while 
Mr.  Herne  was  supporting  Miss  Western  in 
New  York  that  a  little  girl  named  Katherine 
Corcoran  first  saw  him  as  she  sat  in  a  cheap 
seat  in  the  gallery  of  the  theatre,  and  heartily 
hated  the  villainous  Bill  Sykes,  and  by  deduc- 
tion the  man  that  acted  him.  She  had  no 
idea  at  that  time  that  she,  too,  would  one  day 
be  an  actress,  and  she  would  have  been  hor- 
rified if  she  had  known  that  ten  years  later 
she  would  become  the  wife  of  the  man  whom 
for  the  moment  she  so  thoroughly  detested. 

While  still  in  her  teens  Katherine  Corcoran 
went  with  her  family  to  California,  and  so 


James  A.  Herne.  29 

came  under  the  instruction  of  Miss  Julia 
Melville.  One  day  she  was  rehearsing  Con- 
stance in  "The  Love  Chase,"  when  she  was 
confounded  to  see  Mr.  Herne,  then  one  of 
the  most  popular  and  influential  actors  on  the 
Pacific  Coast,  walk  on  the  stage,  and  quietly 
seat  himself  on  a  convenient  box,  cross  his 
legs,  and  fall  to  caressing  one  knee.  Her 
recollection  of  that  moment  is  that  her  ma- 
chinery seemed  suddenly  to  stop ;  she  felt 
thirsty  and  could  hardly  articulate,  for  "  that 
dreadful  Mr.  Herne"  was  a  tyrannical  stage- 
manager  and  a  merciless  critic.  It  was  long 
afterward  that  she  learned  that  Miss  Melville 
had  coaxed  him  to  come  to  hear  one  of  her 
pupils  recite.  The  result  was  an  opportunity 
to  play  Peg  Worfington.  It  was  on  Novem- 
ber 5,  1877,  tnat  Katherine  Corcoran  made 
her  successful  debut  in  San  Francisco,  and 
immediately  afterward  she  was  taken  by  Mr. 
Herne  on  a  starring  trip  to  Portland,  Oregon. 
A  year  later  the  two  were  married,  and  since 


3O  Famous  Actors. 

that  time  they  have  been  continuously  asso- 
ciated in  the  productions  of  Mr.  Herne's 
plays. 

Mr.  Herne's  first  great  success  was  "Hearts 
of  Oak,"  which  was  brought  out  in  San  Fran- 
cisco in  1878.  It  had  a  wonderful  vogue  for 
ten  or  twelve  years,  and  earned  a  fortune 
for  the  author.  Mr.  Herne  described  it  as 
a  melodrama  without  a  villain.  His  second 
play  was  "The  Minute  Man,"  produced  in 
Philadelphia  in  1885.  He  lost  money  on  this, 
and  finally  "  Drifting  Apart,"  a  play  first  pre- 
sented in  New  York,  from  which  Mr.  Herne 
expected  much,  completely  ruined  him  finan- 
cially. In  1888  he  produced  in  Chickering 
Hall,  in  Boston,  "  Margaret  Fleming,"  a  seri- 
ous drama,  which  proved  to  be  the  forerunner 
of  the  "problem  plays."  The  work  was  a 
little  in  advance  of  its  time,  though  it  barely 
missed  being  a  success.  The  feature  of  the 
production  was  the  marvellously  realistic  act- 
ing of  Mrs.  Herne,  who  is  said  to  have  been 


James  A.  Herne.  31 

largely  responsible  for   the  personality  and 
opinions  of  the  heroine. 

In  1891  Mr.  Herne  entered  into  negotia- 
tions with  the  late  J.  H.  McVicker  for  the 
production  of  a  new  play,  which  Mr.  Herne 
called  "The  Hawthornes."  Mr.  Herne  wasy/ 
a  poor  man,  disappointed  and  thoroughly  dis- 
heartened, for  he  had  long  been  trying  to 
find  some  one  with  money  and  influence  who 
would  interest  himself  in  this  play.  Mr. 
McVicker  wanted  a  spring  attraction  for  his 
house,  and  he  was  charmed  with  the  work. 
He  rechristened  it  "  Shore  Acres'  Subdivi- 
sion," and  under  that  title  it  was  first  pro- 
duced at  McVicker's  Theatre,  Chicago,  on 
May  23,  1892.  The  production  attracted 
but  little  attention,  and  the  play  was  ac- 
counted a  failure,  only  one  critic  predicting 
a  great  popular  success  for  it.  After  about  a 
week  of  poor  business  the  play  was  renamed 
a  third  time,  "  Uncle  Nat,"  but  the  change 
of  title  did  not  draw  any  larger  audiences, 


32  Famous  Actors. 

and  at  the  end  of  the  third  week  the  drama 
was  withdrawn  and  other  plays  in  Mr. 
Herne's  repertory  substituted. 

When  the  season  closed  Mr.  Herne  came 
East  and  began  his  struggles  over  again. 
Every  prominent  manager  was  either  visited 
or  written  to,  but  none  would  consent  to  put 
money  into  a  play  that  had  proved  a  failure. 
In  the  end  Mr.  Herne  had  to  give  it  up  and 
accept  an  engagement  in  a  New  York  produc- 
tion. About  this  time  R.  M.  Field,  the  man- 
ager of  the  Boston  Museum  stock  company, 
needed  a  new  play,  and  he  sent  his  stage- 
manager,  Edward  E.  Rose,  to  see  Mr.  Herne. 
Mr.  Rose  heard  the  play  read,  and  his  report 
convinced  Mr.  Field  of  its  merits.  Accord- 
ingly arrangements  were  concluded  for  a 
Boston  production,  which  took  place  at  the 
Museum.  The  success  of  "  Shore  Acres  " 
was  pronounced,  and  it  scored  a  run  of  one 
hundred  and  fourteen  performances,  which 
was  remarkable  for  Boston.  Mr.  Field, 


James  A.  Herne.  33 

believing  that  it  was  merely  a  local  hit,  sold 
his  interest  in  the  play  to  Henry  C.  Miner, 
of  New  York,  for  $1,500,  and  that  astute 
manager  is  known  to  have  cleared  $35,000 
as  his  share  of  the  following  season's  profits. 
"  Shore  Acres  "  was  acted  by  Mr.  Herne  all 
over  the  country  until  he  made  his  production 
of  "  Griffith  Davenport." 

"  Shore  Acres  "  was  written  before  "  Mar- 
garet Fleming,"  and  in  the  play  Mr.  Herne 
had  one  cherished  moment,  which  he  felt 
sure  would  meet  the  condemnation  of  every 
experienced  manager.  It  was  the  ending. 
The  action  closed  on  Christmas  Eve.  The 
children  were  sent  to  bed  and  were  followed 
shortly  after  by  all  the  adults,  except  Na- 
thaniel Berry,  the  lovable  old  bachelor,  who 
tarried  a  moment  to  lock  up  for  the  night 
and  put  things  to  rights  generally.  With  an 
ineffable  smile,  unlike  that  of  any  other  actor 
on  earth,  the  kind  old  man  puttered  about, 
and  at  last,  after  extinguishing  the  last 


34  Famous  Actors. 

candle,  in  the  dim  light  that  shone  from  the 
open  damper  of  the  kitchen  stove,  felt  his 
way  to  the  stairs  and  slowly  climbed  to  his 
chamber,  the  curtain  falling  as  his  bent  form 
disappeared  at  the  head  of  the  stairs.  When 
Mr.  Herne  explained  how  he  purposed  to 
close  the  play  Mr.  McVicker  objected. 

"  Oh,  no,  my  dear  Mr.  Herne,"  he  said. 
"I  fear  you  have  made  a  mistake.  The 
public  would  not  wait  for  that.  It  is  too 
unconventional.  Your  story  is  told  when 
the  young  couple  have  returned  from  the 
West  and  made  up  with  Helen  Berry's 
father.  Let  the  curtain  fall  as  soon  as 
possible  after  the  climax  is  reached,"  and 
the  drama  was  acted  that  way  in  Chicago. 

"When  we  came  to  rehearsal  at  the  Bos- 
ton Museum,"  Mr.  Herne  remarked,  "  I 
expected  that  Mr.  Field  would  object  to 
my  ending  of  the  piece.  If  he  had  objected 
I  was  prepared  to  urge  with  all  my  eloquence 
my  claim  for  recognition  on  that  point.  But 


James  A.  Herne.  35 

to  my  delight  Mr.  Field  almost  immediately 
took  my  view  of  it,  and  so  you  find  in  '  Shore 
Acres '  an  unconventional  ending,  and  one 
which  it  seems  to  my  poor  judgment  has 
the  merit  of  a  poetic  suggestion,  if  nothing 
more." 

Mr.  Herne's  acting  of  Nathaniel  Berry 
was  a  wonderful  comedy  achievement.  It 
was  a  character  part,  of  course,  a  realistic 
study  of  a  familiar  New  England  country 
type,  which  Mr.  Herne  pictured  with  per- 
fect truth.  Nathaniel  Berry  lived  under  his 
touch,  displaying  —  with  a  fidelity  that  so 
closely  approached  nature  that  one  never 
thought  of  art  or  acting  —  all  the  kindly 
humour,  the  gentle  pathos,  and  innate 
strength  of  character  that  made  Uncle  Nat 
so  lovable  a  member  of  the  human  family. 


CHAPTER  III. 

RICHARD    MANSFIELD. 

FOR  a  number  of  years  Richard  Mansfield 
has  held  a  foremost  place  among  American 
actors,  and  last  season  his  imposing  produc- 
tion of  Edmond  Rostand's  romantic  drama, 
"Cyrano  de  Bergerac,"  gave  him  a  position 
in  this  country  very  similar  to  that  accorded 
Sir  Henry  Irving  in  England.  While  pro- 
fessionally Mr.  Mansfield  leads  here  as  Mr. 
Irving  leads  there,  it  is  not  likely  that  the 
American  actor  will  ever  secure  that  same 
personal  hold  on  the  people  that  the  British 
actor  has ;  for  Mr.  Mansfield  is  sadly  defi- 
cient in  suavity  and  in  social  tact,  qualities 
that  are  especially  prominent  in  Mr.  Irving, 
and  which  have  been  important  factors  in 
36 


RICHARD    MANSFIELD 
As  Dick  Dudgeon  in  "  The  Devil's  Disciple." 


r    "  «  »  «      •*      •   *      •*»• 


Richard  Mansfield.  37 

advancing  his  interests.  However,  as  a 
dramatic  artist,  I  consider  Mr.  Mansfield 
greatly  Mr.  Irving's  superior,  and  as  an 
intellectual  actor  the  American  is  certainly 
the  Englishman's  equal.  Mr.  Irving's  rec- 
ord as  an  elaborate  producer  of  plays  is,  of 
course,  unequalled,  but  Mr.  Mansfield's  is  not 
a  mean  one,  and  it  represents  a  wealth  of  grit, 
pluck,  and  determination  in  the  pursuit  of  an 
artistic  ambition. 

Mr.  Mansfield,  like  Mr.  Irving,  is  pre- 
eminently a  character  actor.  We  have  no 
great  tragedians  these  days,  and  we  forget 
what  tragedy  acting  is  until  some  foreigner, 
like  Tomasso  Salvini  or  Mounet-Sully,  in 
whom  a  paternal  government  has  kept  the 
tragic  fire  always  burning,  visits  us  and 
either  thrills  or  bores  us  —  the  emotion  de- 
pends entirely  on  the  individual  —  by  his 
tremendously  powerful  and  realistic  art,  as 
in  the  case  of  Salvini,  or  by  the  artistic 
completeness  of  his  artificiality,  as  in  the 


38  Famous  Actors. 

case  of  Mounet-Sully.  We  have  no  trage- 
dians principally  because  tragedy  is  not  a 
popular  form  of  dramatic  art  among  a  fini- 
cal people,  who  have  not  advanced  far  enough 
as  a  whole  to  appreciate  the  poetry  of  the 
classic  tragedy,  and  who  are  so  falsely  re- 
fined that  they  are  shocked  by  the  brutality 
of  suffering  and  death.  The  nearest  ap- 
proach to  tragedy  is  found  in  theatres  that 
draw  their  support  from  the  uneducated 
masses,  and  the  boisterous  acting  seen  in 
these  playhouses  seems  to  a  person,  accus- 
tomed to  the  more  quiet  and  more  subtle 
modern  method,  a  burlesque.  He  is  sur- 
prised at  the  influence  these  actors  exercise 
over  their  emotional  audiences.  I  once  saw 
"Othello"  played  as  if  it  were  a  melo- 
drama, and  its  effect  on  the  spectators,  who 
followed  the  development  of  the  plot  with 
breathless  interest,  was  amazing.  It  is  more 
than  probable  that  Shakespeare  intended  that 
" Othello"  should  be  presented  in  just  that 


Richard  Mansfield.  39 

way  and  to  just  such  people,  and  he  would 
likely  enough  have  laughed  at  our  idea  of  the 
ideally  tragic,  which  has  killed  the  old-fash- 
ioned, ranting  tragic  actor  and  developed  our 
present  school  of  character  actors.  It  may 
be  stated  right  here,  however,  that  no  more 
artistic  mummer  ever  lived  than  he  who  can 
unite  with  the  eccentric  physical  and  mental 
details  of  the  character  he  impersonates 
emotional  strength,  pathetic  power,  and  grim 
humour. 

Such  a  character  is  Mr.  Mansfield's  Cy- 
rano, a  histrionic  structure  of  Titanic  pro- 
portions. One  is  so  amazed  at  its  immensity 
that  the  critical  faculty  is  well-nigh  paralysed, 
and  he  finds  himself  pondering  on  the  breadth 
and  intellectual  grasp  of  the  man  that  con- 
ceived the  wealth  of  elaboration  that  went 
into  the  portrayal  of  the  character,  on  the 
infinite  patience  that  worked  out  such  a  store- 
house of  detail,  and  on  the  resources  of  the 
actor's  art  that  made  possible  so  remarkable 


4O  Famous  Actors. 

a  creation.  The  most  impressive  feature  of 
the  Mansfield  Cyrano,  when  the  actor  inter- 
preted the  character  with  fullest  power,  was 
not  the  great  intellectuality  of  his  concep- 
tion nor  the  masterly  resourcefulness  of  his 
impersonation,  but  it  was  the  marvellous 
sympathy  and  pathos  which  pervaded  both 
conception  and  exposition.  The  tragedy  of 
Cyrano  de  Bergerac  seemed  the  summing 
up  of  the  tragedy  of  human  existence,  —  the 
common  story  of  the  many  men  who  have 
started  forth  in  life  girded  with  honesty  and 
nobility  of  purpose,  with  their  ideals  firmly 
fixed,  and  who  have  failed  miserably  to 
keep  their  souls  pure.  Few,  indeed,  fight 
as  did  Cyrano,  to  the  bitter  end ;  few  die 
without  a  compromise,  with  their  crests 
snow-white.  A  moment  ago  I  said  the  trag- 
edy of  Cyrano.  It  is  not  true.  Theirs  the 
tragedy  who  fall  by  the  wayside ;  his  the 
great  victory ! 

It  was  this  thoroughly  real,  this  wonder- 


Richard  Mansfield.  41 

fully  human  quality  in  Mr.  Mansfield's  acting 
that  seized  one.  He  embodied  Cyrano  com- 
pletely, not  as  an  individual,  fighting  for 
freedom  and  independence,  but  as  the  living 
representative  of  every  man  who  cherishes 
unsordid  ambition,  unworldliness,  and  personal 
self-respect  as  greater  than  material  honours 
won  by  bowing  the  knee  or  gainsaying  the 
truth. 

The  Mansfield  Cyrano  was  a  complete 
text-book  in  the  art  of  acting,  and  it  af- 
forded a  splendid  opportunity  to  study  an 
artist's  conception  and  exposition  of  a  great 
character.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that 
there  was  not  a  turn  of  a  phrase,  nor  a  move- 
ment of  the  body,  that  did  not  bear  testi- 
mony to  the  actor's  deep  delving  into  details. 
Cyrano's  mind  and  soul  were  probed  to  their 
innermost  recesses,  and  the  actor  dragged 
forth  every  motive,  however  hidden,  and 
however  subtle,  that  in  any  way  influenced 
the  man  in  his  attitude  toward  the  world. 


42  Famous  Actors. 

And  there  were  depths  to  probe  in  the  char- 
acter imagined  by  Rostand. 

There  have  been  apologists  for  Cyrano's 
braggadocio  and  swaggering;  they  feared  that 
some  one  might  be  shocked  by  them  out 
of  sympathy  with  the  character.  Mr.  Mans- 
field made  it  very  clear  that  this  spirit  of 
bullying  and  boasting  was  but  the  cloak  that 
hid  from  prying  scoffers  the  tender,  sen- 
sitive, exquisitely  chivalrous  nature  of  the 
real  Cyrano.  They  were  the  assumed  gar- 
ment of  the  man,  whom  none  except  Le 
Bret  and  the  generous  Ragueneau  ever  in 
the  least  understood,  whose  complete  self- 
sacrifice  Christian  perceived  but  dimly,  and 
whose  great,  pure  love  Roxane  realised  only 
when  it  was  unmasked  by  the  weakness  of 
approaching  death.  Those  boastings  and 
floutings  were  the  master  strokes  of  a  pa- 
thos that  reached  its  climax  at  the  very 
end  of  the  drama,  when  Cyrano,  bruised  and 
wounded  unto  death  by  the  foul  blow  of  a 


Richard  Mansfield.  43 

cowardly  assassin,  strove  with  ghastly  in- 
tensity to  play  the  part  that  had  been  his 
life  study. 

While  Mr.  Mansfield  may  not  have  ex- 
pressed to  the  full  the  rich  sixteenth  century 
humour  of  the  first  two  acts,  his  mastery  of 
the  picturesque  and  tragic  scenes  of  the  last 
three  acts  was  thorough.  The  famous  bal- 
cony scene  of  the  third  act  was  marvellously 
played,  and  the  effect  produced  was  largely 
one  of  voice,  for  the  scene  was  acted  in 
darkness  —  save  for  the  light  on  Roxane  — 
that  hid  completely  the  features  and  all  save 
the  most  pronounced  gestures  of  Cyrano  and 
Christian.  Mr.  Mansfield  introduced  a  dar- 
ing bit  of  novelty  by  singing  the  "  moon  " 
verses  that  delayed  the  Comte  de  Guiche 
while  Roxane  and  Christian  were  married. 
Strikingly  original  in  treatment,  also,  was 
the  duel  scene  in  the  first  act.  Mr.  Mans- 
field —  perhaps  because  he  knew  that  where 
Cyrano  was,  there  the  dramatic  interest  set- 


44  Famous  Actors. 

tied,  perhaps  (and  we  prefer  to  think  this) 
because  he  followed  his  artistic  sense  — 
never  hesitated  to  sacrifice  his  claim  to  the 
centre  of  the  stage  for  the  purpose  of 
heightening  the  picturesqueness  of  the  action 
or  of  adding  to  its  force.  The  duel  was  not 
fought  in  the  open,  with  the  stage  crowd 
grouped  in  the  background,  and  the  two 
leaders  in  the  action  in  unobstructed  view 
of  the  audience.  Instead,  the  crowd  formed 
a  complete  circle  about  the  fencers  and  fol- 
lowed them  around  the  stage,  as  Cyrano 
pursued  his  continually  retreating  antagonist. 
We  caught  only  occasional  glimpses  of  the 
duellists,  and  above  the  murmuring  of  the 
crowd  we  heard  the  voice  of  Cyrano  reciting 
his  verses.  The  effect  of  it  all  was  very 
realistic.  Unconventional,  too,  was  the  cli- 
max of  the  battle  scene.  Cyrano  was  well 
to  the  rear  of  the  stage,  half-way  up  the 
slope,  when  the  victorious  Spaniards  forced 
the  redoubt  and  burst  into  view.  Wounded, 


Richard  Mansfield.  45 

he  sank  to  his  knees,  and  in  this  posture 
shouted:  " These  are  the  Gasgon  Cadets!" 
Then  he  fell,  and  lay  stretched  out  on  the 
embankment,  only  one  of  many. 

The  gentle  courtesy  to  the  orange-girl  in 
the  first  act,  the  snarling,  rasping,  tigerish 
recitation  of  the  ballad  of  the  Cadets,  and 
the  bound-down  rage  at  Christian's  interrup- 
tions in  the  second  act,  the  convincing  elocu- 
tion in  the  balcony  scene  in  the  third  act, 
the  delicate  sentiment  in  the  bearing  toward 
Roxane  in  the  fourth  act,  the  pathos  and 
tragic  power  of  the  difficult  death  scene,  — 
how  incomparable  was  Mr.  Mansfield  in  all 
of  them ! 

In  1890,  Richard  Mansfield,  in  order  to 
expose  an  impostor  who  claimed  to  be  his 
brother,  sent  the  following  note  to  a  Cleve- 
land lawyer :  "  I  have  no  relatives  in  this 
country.  My  father,  whose  name  was  Mau- 
rice Mansfield,  is  dead,  as  is  my  mother, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Emma  Rudersdorff. 


46  Famous  Actors. 

The  family  comprises  now  only  my  two 
brothers,  my  sister,  and  myself.  My  brother 
Felix,  the  eldest,  resides  with  his  family  in 
Clifton,  near  Bristol,  England.  My  sister 
Margaret  is  married  and  lives  in  France.  My 
younger  brother  is  also  married,  and  lives 
in  Milan,  Italy."  Mr.  Mansfield  was  born 
on  the  island  of  Heligoland,  one  of  the 
Frisian  group  in  the  North  Sea,  in  1857. 
Madame  Rudersdorff  was  a  famous  opera 
singer,  and  Richard's  youth  was  a  migratory 
one.  When  most  boys  are  still  in  the  school- 
room, he  was  travelling  all  over  the  Conti- 
nent and  England.  When  he  was  ten  years 
old  he  was  sent  to  school  in  Germany.  One 
day  he  amused  himself  by  painting  the  school- 
room door  a  vivid  green,  and  he  was  so 
pleased  with  his  work  that  he  signed  his 
name  to  the  decorated  panel.  Great  was  the 
wrath  of  the  ancient  pedagogue,  and  Richard 
was  summoned  to  the  professor's  study  for 
an  accounting,  while  the  remainder  of  the 


Richard  Mansfield.  47 

pupils  assembled  beneath  the  window  to 
profit  by  his  agony.  Days  at  the  Derby 
School  under  the  tutelage  of  the  Rev.  Walter 
Clark  followed,  and  it  was  here  that  he  made 
his  first  appearance  in  Shakespearian  drama. 
The  occasion  was  a  class  day  exhibition,  and 
Richard  played  Shylock.  It  was  after  this 
production  that  Doctor  Selwyn,  the  late 
Bishop  of  Lichfield,  turning  to  the  young 
Thespian  and  grasping  his  hand,  said,  fer- 
vently :  "  Heaven  forbid  that  I  should  en- 
courage you  to  become  an  actor,  but  should 
you,  if  I  mistake  not,  you  will  be  a  great 
one." 

In  1869,  while  Richard  Mansfield  was 
studying  at  Yverdon,  on  the  Lac  de  Neu- 
chatel  in  Switzerland,  his  mother  came  to 
this  country,  and  in  1872  she  was  one  of 
the  most  popular  vocalists  at  the  Boston 
Peace  Jubilee.  She  was  so  pleased  at  her 
reception  in  that  city  that  she  decided  to 
settle  there,  and  Richard  was  sent  for.  He 


48  Famous  Actors. 

went  to  work  in  the  large  dry  goods  store  of 
Jordan,  Marsh  &  Company.  He  wrote  the 
advertisements  for  the  firm.  He  was  also 
for  a  year  the  musical  critic  of  the  Boston 
Globe.  A  business  life,  however,  had  no  at- 
tractions for  him,  and  he  decided  to  try  his 
hand  at  painting.  In  1875  ne  journeyed  to 
England,  where  he  hoped  to  sell  enough  pic- 
tures to  gain  the  means  wherewith  to  pursue 
his  studies ;  but  the  pictures  would  not  sell, 
and  he  soon  found  himself  stranded,  penni- 
less and  almost  starving.  Too  proud  to  send 
home  for  assistance  or  to  ask  it  from  his 
acquaintances  in  London,  hungry  and  home- 
less, he  walked  the  streets  day  and  night, 
rejoicing  that  the  polished  uppers  of  his 
soleless  shoes,  and  the  one  tidy  looking 
suit  of  clothes  that  he  possessed  concealed 
his  poverty.  Occasionally  he  accepted  in- 
vitations to  dinner  or  to  country  houses, 
and  he  satisfied  his  independence  by  the 
thought  that  he  paid  for  his  meals  by  the 


Richard  Mansfield.  49 

delightful    parlour    entertainments   that   he 
gave. 

"  None  but  a  young,  strong  man  could 
have  subsisted  upon  the  little  I  ate,"  said  Mr. 
Mansfield.  "For  nearly  three  years  I  wan- 
dered about  the  streets  of  London  a  starving 
man,  shunning  former  friends  for  fear  that  my 
necessitous  condition  would  become  known 
to  them.  Often,  footsore  and  faint  with  hun- 
ger, I  would  gaze  into  the  windows  of  restau- 
rants, bakers'  and  fruit  stores,  thinking  the 
food  displayed  in  them  the  most  tempting 
and  beautiful  sight  in  the  world.  D'Oyly 
Carte  then  kept  a  registry  for  actors,  and 
one  day,  having  received  a  guinea  for  an  arti- 
cle I  had  written,  I  paid  him  five  shillings  to 
put  my  name  on  his  books.  We  had  been 
friends  before  I  had  begun  to  avoid  my 
friends,  therefore  he  took  an  interest  in  me 
and  soon  obtained  for  me  a  situation  with  Ger- 
man Reed.  I  was  to  take  the  place  of  Corney 
Grain,  the  great  drawing-room  entertainer  of 


5<D  Famous  Actors 

England,  and  to  receive  forty  dollars  a  week. 
To  me  the  prospect  of  earning  this  sum 
appeared  as  if  Eldorado  had  suddenly  show- 
ered its  riches  upon  me. 

"Gerald  Dixon,  son  of  Hepworth  Dixon, 
helped  me  to  write  a  little  sketch  for  my 
debut.  It  was  a  description,  with  imitations, 
of  a  party  of  actors  supposed  to  be  crossing 
the  ocean.  The  usual  charity  concert  was 
to  be  given,  in  which  the  fog-horn  played  a 
prominent  part.  There  was  to  be  an  amus- 
ing imitation  of  the  Italian  baritone,  who 
sings,  as  he  always  does,  '  La  ci  Varem,'  in 
the  middle  of  which  he  leaves  in  haste  to 
pay  tribute  to  the  mighty  monarch,  —  ocean. 
Well,  the  eventful  night  came  which  was  to 
make  or  mar  me.  I  sat  down  at  the  piano 
and  struck  a  chord,  —  one  chord  only,  —  and 
fell  back.  I  was  taken  off  the  stage,  having 
succumbed  to  stage  fright,  as  they  thought, 
but  the  truth  was  that  I  was  so  weak  from 
hunger  and  privation  that  I  fainted.  I  was 


Richard  Mansfield.  5  I 

physically  too  exhausted  from  continued  fast- 
ing to  get  through  such  an  entertainment  as 
I  had  undertaken. 

"  I  was  discharged  the  next  day,  receiving 
one  week's  salary.  When  that  was  gone 
there  ensued  another  and  worse  period  of 
starvation.  Having  no  means  to  procure 
shelter,  I  walked  about  the  streets  of  London 
all  night  long.  Just  as  I  thought  I  must 
surely  perish  from  want  of  food  and  exposure 
I  met  W.  S.  Gilbert.  He  had  been  much 
struck  by  my  efforts  to  amuse  our  mutual 
friends  of  former  days  in  their  drawing- 
rooms.  He  was  about  sending  a  company 
into  the  provinces  to  play  <  Pinafore,'  and 
engaged  me  on  the  spot  to  take  the  r61e  of 
Sir  Joseph  Porter  at  a  salary  of  £$  a  week. 
Small  as  the  sum  was,  it  sufficed  to  end  my 
starvation,  and  to  give  me  a  chance  to  begin 
my  professional  career.  I  remained  three 
years  with  Gilbert,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  I  struck  for  a  little  more  pay.  It 


52  Famous  Actors. 

was  refused,    and   I   left  him  and  went  to 
London." 

Alexander  Henderson,  the  husband  of 
Lydia  Thompson,  gave  Mr.  Mansfield  an 
engagement  at  the  Globe  Theatre,  where  he 
made  an  instant  hit  in  "  La  Boulangere  "  and 
other  comic  operas.  Then  D'Oyly  Carte 
made  him  an  offer  to  go  to  the  United 
States,  and  he  made  his  debut,  September 
26,  1882,  in  this  country  as  Dromez  in 
"  Les  Manteaux  Noirs,"  at  the  old  Standard 
Theatre  in  New  York.  Other  comic  opera 
roles,  such  as  Nick  Vedder  in  "Rip  Van 
Winkle,"  and  the  Lord  Chancellor  in  "  lolan- 
the,"  followed,  and  then  he  became  a  member 
of  A.  M.  Palmer's  Union  Theatre  Company. 
After  a  round  of  minor  parts  he  was  finally 
cast  for  the  small  part  of  Tirindal,  the 
blas£  youth  in  "  A  Parisian  Romance."  He 
was  very  despondent  over  this  role,  but  soon 
his  chance  came.  Less  than  a  week  before 
the  play  was  produced,  J.  H.  Stoddard,  who 


Richard  Mansfield.  5  3 

was  cast  for  the  Baron  Chevrial,  threw  up 
the  character  in  disgust,  saying  that  he  could 
do  nothing  with  it,  and  it  was  given  to  Mans- 
field. On  the  eventful  first  night,  January 
10,  1883,  his  earlier  efforts  were  received 
with  critical  coldness,  but  after  the  great 
supper  scene,  as  the  amazed  surprise  of  the 
audience  gave  place  to  unbridled  enthusiasm, 
such  a  reception  awaited  him  as  even  this 
theatre  of  successes  had  never  before  wit- 
nessed. 

Mr.  Mansfield  went  on  the  road  with  Mr. 
Palmer's  company  during  the  spring  and 
summer,  and  in  San  Francisco  he  made  a 
hit  as  the  irate  French  tenor  in  "  French 
Flats."  The  next  few  years  were  a  constant 
struggle  to  maintain  his  individuality  and  to 
gain  recognition.  He  was  in  "  Alpine  Roses  " 
at  the  Madison  Square,  and  acted  the  Ger- 
man baron  in  "La  Vie  Parisienne"  at  the 
Bijou,  and  Nasoni  in  "  Gasparone "  at  the 
Standard.  He  then  starred  as  Baron  Che- 


54  Famous  Actors. 

vrial.  In  support  of  Minnie  Maddern  he 
played  at  the  Lyceum  Theatre  Herr  Kraft  in 
"  In  Spite  of  All,"  Steele  Mackaye's  version  of 
Sardou's  "Andrea."  In  Boston  he  was  Koko 
in  "The  Mikado,"  in  John  Stetson's  com- 
pany. Then  he  received  the  manuscript  of 
"Prince  Karl"  from  A.  C.  Gunter,  and  pro- 
duced that  bright  little  play  at  the  Boston 
Museum  in  April,  1886.  Later  he  took  the 
play  to  New  York,  where  it  had  a  successful 
summer  run,  and  in  the  fall,  supported  by 
his  own  company,  Mr.  Mansfield  went  on  a 
tour,  presenting  "  Prince  Karl  "  and  "  A  Paris- 
ian Romance."  Later  he  brought  out  in 
Boston  his  hideous,  but  strangely  fascinating, 
"  Dr.  Jekyll  and  Mr.  Hyde,"  and  after  that 
his  own  delicate  play,  "  Monsieur,"  in  which 
he  acted  Andre"  Jadot. 

In  the  summer  of  1889  Mr.  Mansfield  ac- 
cepted Henry  Irving' s  invitation  to  occupy 
the  Lyceum  Theatre.  During  the  engage- 
ment, "Dr.  Jekyll  and  Mr.  Hyde,"  "A 


Richard  Mansfield.  55 

Parisian  Romance,"  "Prince  Karl,"  and 
"  Lesbia,"  a  one-act  play,  in  which  Beatrice 
Cameron,  now  Mrs.  Mansfield,  appeared, 
were  presented;  but  Mr.  Mansfield  cannot 
be  said  to  have  made  any  lasting  impression 
until  his  magnificent  production  of  Shake- 
speare's "Richard  III.,"  which  took  place  at 
the  Globe  Theatre.  That  had  a  run  of 
eighty-nine  performances,  the  longest  the 
play  had  ever  known  in  London,  and  it  was 
still  drawing  well  when  hot  weather  put  an 
end  to  the  season.  In  the  fall  Mr.  Mansfield 
brought  his  "Richard  III."  to  this  country, 
and  presented  it  first  in  Boston  and  then  in 
New  York.  The  public  support  was  good 
but  not  great,  and  the  play,  being  acted  and 
staged  on  such  an  elaborate  scale  that  noth- 
ing but  crowded  houses  were  profitable,  was 
withdrawn  after  a  month's  run  in  New 
York. 

Mr.  Mansfield's  next  production  was  Clyde 
Fitch's  "  Beau  Brummel,"  which  was  followed 


56  Famous  Actors. 

by  "  Don  Juan,"  of  which  Mr.  Mansfield  him- 
self was  the  author.  The  fall  of  1891  saw 
T.  Russell  Sullivan's  "  Nero,"  which  was 
only  moderately  successful.  In  February, 
1892,  Mr.  Mansfield  produced  "Ten  Thou- 
sand a  Year,"  a  failure,  and  after  that  his 
own  dramatisation  of  Hawthorne's  ."A 
Scarlet  Letter."  October,  1893,  was  marked 
by  a  revival  of  "  The  Merchant  of  Venice." 
Since  that  time  Mr.  Mansfield  has  been 
identified  with  George  Bernard  Shaw's 
"  Arms  and  the  Man ;  "  Lorimer  Stoddard's 
"  Scenes  from  the  Life  of  Napoleon  Bona- 
parte," "The  King  of  Peru,"  "The  Story  of 
Rodion  the  Student,"  "The  First  Violin," 
"Castle  Sombras,"  "The  Devil's  Disciple," 
and  "  Cyrano  de  Bergerac." 

In  the  spring  of  1895  Mr.  Mansfield  se- 
cured possession  of  Harrigan's  old  theatre 
on  Thirty-fifth  Street,  New  York,  which  he 
opened  auspiciously  on  April  22d,  as  the 
Garrick,  and  attempted  to  run  on  the  actor- 


Richard  Mansfield.  57 

manager  plan  so  popular  in  London.  A 
serious  illness  dashed  his  hopes,  however, 
and  the  next  fall  he  was  obliged  to  give  up 
the  enterprise. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

E.    M.    HOLLAND. 

EDMUND  MILTON  HOLLAND'S  career  as  an 
actor  is  a  remarkable  record  of  constancy. 
He  made  his  professional  de"but  in  1866,  and 
a  year  later  he  became  a  member  of  Lester 
Wallack's  famous  New  York  company,  with 
which  he  remained  until  1880.  Then,  after 
a  visit  to  England  with  McKee  Rankin,  and 
after  a  few  engagements  in  New  York,  he 
joined  the  Madison  Square  Theatre  Company, 
first  under  the  Mallorys  and  Daniel  Froh- 
man  and  then  under  A.  M.  Palmer,  who  was 
his  manager  until  1895,  when  Edmund  Hol- 
land and  his  brother  Joseph  began  their 
starring  tour.  Next  Mr.  Holland  joined 


E.    M.    HOLLAND. 


E.  M.  Holland.  59 

Charles  Frohman's  forces,  and  there  he  bids 
fair  to  remain  for  rsome  time. 

Last  season  Mr.  Holland  was  the  chief 
feature  of  Alexandre  Bisson's  farce,  "  On  and 
Off."  It  is  not  often  that  one  finds  a  farce 
that  is  good  all  the  way  through,  a  farce  that 
is  without  a  stumbling  opening,  that  does  not 
take  half  an  act  to  get  going,  that  does  not 
halt  or  limp  somewhere  in  the  second  act,  or 
that  does  not  end  in  a  palpably  nonsensical 
fashion.  "  On  and  Off"  was  almost  unique 
in  that  its  fun  started  at  once  fast  and  furi- 
ous, and  never  stopped  for  an  instant  until 
the  curtain  fell  on  the  last  act. 

But  if  the  farce  itself  was  good,  the  acting 
was  better,  and  this  was  as  it  should  have 
been.  No  farce  was  ever  written  that  could 
not  be  ruined  by  poor  acting,  and  it  is  equally 
true  that  many  a  poor  farce  has  been  pulled 
through  by  the  strenuous  efforts  of  the  mum- 
mers. The  farcical  ratio  under  the  most 
favourable  circumstances  is  something  like 


60  Famous  Actors. 

one-third  play  to  two-thirds  players.  "On 
and  Off,"  as  regards  wit,  humour,  ingenuity, 
and  originality,  was  well  ahead  of  the  aver- 
age, and  this  excellence  was  immeasurably 
enforced  by  the  fact  that  the  acting  was  far 
superior  to  the  play.  It  was  the  irresistible 
combination  of  good  farce  and  better  farceurs 
that  made  "  On  and  Off  "  so  vastly  amusing. 
The  two  persons  that  contributed  most  of  all 
to  this  desirable  result  were  Mr.  Holland  and 
Fritz  Williams.  Mr.  Holland  impersonated 
the  unfortunate  man  who  is  the  backbone  of 
every  ludicrous  situation  known  to  the  French 
and  German  farce-writers.  This  man  is 
always  more  or  less  of  a  sinner,  and  his 
troubles  are  the  result  of  his  social  pecca- 
dillos. He  sins,  however,  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  be  easily  forgiven  by  the  average  hu- 
man being.  His  wickedness  is  never  due  to 
innate  viciousness ;  either  he  misbehaves 
merely  for  the  fun  of  the  thing,  or  (and 
this  is  the  popular  reason)  because  he  is 


E.  M.  Holland.  6 1 

driven  to  it  by  some  species  of  domestic 
tyranny.  The  ethics  of  the  farce,  it  will  be 
seen,  are  not  idealistic. 

Mr.  Holland's  acting  was  a  model  of  light 
comedy.  His  style  was  polished,  full  of  life, 
and  yet  reposeful,  for  his  command  of  him- 
self was  absolute  ;  his  method  was  clean-cut 
and  precise ;  there  was  never  a  moment  of 
indecision  nor  hesitation  ;  he  gauged  with 
marvellous  accuracy  just  the  right  amount 
of  burlesque  needed  to  bring  about  the  best 
results,  and  he  never  carried  the  exaggeration 
so  far  as  to  destroy  the  illusion.  Some  of  his 
best  efforts  were  obtained  simply  by  doing 
nothing  ;  at  other  times  a  glance  of  the  eye, 
a  single  gesture  of  the  hand,  or  the  slightest 
change  in  facial  expression,  conveyed  a  wealth 
of  meaning.  His  powers  of  suggestion  were 
apparently  unlimited,  and  his  font  of  humour 
unfailing. 

A  part  far  removed  from  George  Godfray 
in  "On  and  Off"  was  that  of  the  thieving 


62  Famous  Actors. 

valet,  Jenkins  Hanby,  in  "  A  Social  Highway- 
man," the  play  in  which  Edmund  and  Joseph 
Holland  starred.  That  was  a  character  study 
pure  and  simple,  and  an  exceedingly  difficult 
one ;  for  the  actor  did  not  rely,  but  to  a  very 
slight  degree,  on  make-up  to  aid  in  the  ex- 
position of  the  character.  He  seemed  rather 
to  assume  mentally  the  moral  peculiarities  of 
the  jailbird  and  servant,  and  then  to  let  them 
show  forth  in  suggestive  physical  mannerisms. 
There  was  a  suspicion  of  the  criminal  in  the 
way  he  bore  himself,  in  the  hang  of  his  head, 
in  the  stoop  of  his  shoulders,  in  his  stealthy 
step  and  furtive  glances.  The  face  was 
clean-shaven,  and  the  dress  was  without 
eccentricity.  Yet  Mr.  Holland  completely 
individualised  the  character  from  any  other 
that  he  had  ever  played. 

The  ability  to  sink  one's  personality  even 
momentarily  in  a  character  is  a  rare  gift, 
but  rarer  still  is  the  power  to  sustain  the 
deception  for  any  length  of  time.  This 


E.  M.  Holland.  63 

latter  Mr.  Holland  can  do  with  remarkable 
success.  Take  half  a  dozen  of  his  best  known 
roles,  —  his  Captain  Redwood  in  "Jim  the 
Penman,"  his  Mr.  Gardner  in  "Captain 
Swift,"  his  Berkeley  Bruce  in  "  Aunt  Jack," 
his  Colonel  Moberly  in  "Alabama,"  his 
Jenkins  Hanby  in  "  A  Social  Highwayman," 
and  his  George  Godfray  in  "  On  and  Off,"  — 
try  to  figure  out  from  them  what  manner  of 
man  E.  M.  Holland  is,  try  to  imagine  what 
he  looks  like  even.  You  will  find  yourself 
at  first  puzzled  and  in  the  end  defeated. 

Mr.  Holland  is  the  second  son  of  George 
Holland,  who  was  himself  a  popular  light 
comedy  actor,  and  who  died  in  1870.  It 
was  an  incident  connected  with  George 
Holland's  funeral  that  stirred  up  much 
feeling  in  theatrical  circles  against  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Sabine,  of  New  York,  and  led  to 
the  rechristening  of  the  Church  of  the  Trans- 
figuration in  that  city.  Doctor  Sabine  de- 
clined to  officiate  at  George  Holland's  funeral 


64  Famous  Actors. 

services,  because  of  Mr.  Holland's  connection 
with  the  stage,  and  remarked  that  there  was 
a  little  church  around  the  corner  where 
things  of  that  kind  were  done.  Whereupon 
Joseph  Jefferson  exclaimed:  "God  bless  the 
little  church  around  the  corner ! "  Ever 
since  that  time  actors  have  regarded  with 
especial  affection  "The  Little  Church 
Around  the  Corner." 

E.  M.  Holland  was  born  in  New  York,  on 
September  7,  1848.  His  first  public  appear- 
ance was  made  when,  as  a  baby,  he  was  car- 
ried on  the  stage  in  the  play,  "To  Parents 
and  Guardians,"  in  which  his  father  was  ap- 
pearing. Later,  when  about  six  years  old, 
he  appeared  in  "The  Day  after  the  Fair." 
He  went  to  school  in  New  York  until  he  was 
fifteen  years  old,  when  he  became  call-boy  in 
Mrs.  John  Wood's  Olympic  Theatre,  which 
had  formerly  been  Laura  Keene's  Theatre. 
Here,  in  addition  to  his  other  duties,  he  was 
occasionally  used  on  the  stage  in  some  emer- 


E.  M.  Holland.  65 

gency,  but  he  did  not  completely  evolve  into 
an  actor  until  1 866,  when  he  was  engaged  to 
play  small  parts  at  Barnum's  Museum,  on  the 
corner  of  Broadway  and  Spring  Street.  At 
this  time,  and  even  after  he  joined  Wallack's 
company,  Mr.  Holland  was  known  as  E. 
Milton. 

After  leaving  Barnum's  Museum,  Mr.  Hol- 
land appeared  with  Joseph  Jefferson  in  the 
original  production  in  New  York  of  Dion 
Boucicault's  version  of  "  Rip  Van  Winkle," 
and  immediately  after  that  he  began  his  long 
connection  with  Lester  Wallack's  house,  ap- 
pearing first  in  "A  New  Way  to  Pay  Old 
Debts/'  in  which  E.  L.  Davenport  starred. 
Mr.  Holland's  greatest  success  at  this  the- 
atre was  Silky  in  "  The  Road  to  Ruin,"  and 
well  liked,  too,  were  his  Beau  Farintosh 
in  "Caste,"  and  his  Samuel  Gerridge  in 
"School."  Among  the  players  with  whom 
he  acted  were  Charles  Mathews,  John  Gil- 
bert, George  Honey,  Charles  Fisher,  Ada 


66  Famous  Actors. 

Dyas,  Madame  Ponisi,  J.  H.  Stoddart, 
Charles  Stevenson,  and  Dion  Boucicault. 

Just  after  leaving  Wallack's,  in  1880,  Mr. 
Holland  appeared  as  Riffidini  in  "  French 
Flats,"  under  A.  M.  Palmer's  management, 
and  then  went  to  London  with  McKee  Ran- 
kin,  where  he  acted  the  Judge  in  "The 
Danites"  at  Sadler's  Wells  Theatre.  A 
tour  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland 
followed,  after  which  Mr.  Holland  returned 
to  New  York. 

In  Henry  E.  Abbey's  company,  at  the 
Park  Theatre,  he  created  the  character  of 
Major  McTurtle  in  "  Mother-in-law,"  and  also 
appeared  as  the  Deacon  in  "  After  the  Ball." 
His  connection  with  the  Madison  Square 
Theatre  began  in  1882,  when  the  Mallorys 
engaged  him  to  act  Pittacus  Green  in 
"  Hazel  Kirke,"  with  one  of  the  travelling 
companies.  Then  Daniel  Frohman  took  the 
theatre,  and  during  the  two  years  that  he  was 
in  charge  Mr.  Holland  appeared  as  the  Tailor 


E.  M.  Holland.  67 

in  "  The  Private  Secretary,"  and  on  the  road 
as  the  Lawyer  in  "  Young  Mrs.  Winthrop," 
and  Old  Rogers  in  "  Esmeralda."  When 
Mr.  Palmer  succeeded  Mr.  Frohman,  Mr. 
Holland  became  a  prominent  member  of 
Palmer's  Madison  Square  Theatre  Company. 
His  characters  included  Gawain  in  "Elaine," 
the  unctuous  Lot  Burden  in  "  Saints  and 
Sinners,"  the  suave  Captain  Redwood  in 
"Jim  the  Penman,"  Pichot  in  "The  Martyr," 
the  elegant  Mr.  Gardner  in  "  Captain  Swift," 
Doctor  Chetell  in  "  Heart  of  Hearts," 
Berkeley  Bruce  in  "  Aunt  Jack,"  Mr.  Belair 
in  "Partners,"  Uncle  Gregory  in  "A  Pair 
of  Spectacles,"  and  Colonel  Moberly  in  "  Ala- 
bama." In  "  The  Rajah  "  he  first  played  Jekyl 
and  then  Jocelyn.  He  was  also  in  the  casts 
of  "  Sealed  Instructions,"  "  Dinner  at  Eight," 
and  "  Sunlight  and  Shadow." 

After  the  stock  company  was  transferred 
to  Palmer's  Theatre,  Mr.  Holland  appeared 
as  Colonel  Carter  in  "  Colonel  Carter  of 


68  Famous  Actors. 

Carters ville,"  Lord  August  Lorton  in  "  Lady 
Windermere's  Fan,"  Cortland  Crandall  in 
"  New  Blood,"  and  Colonel  Cazenove  in 
"The  New  Woman."  In  the  double  bill 
of  "Twilight"  and  "Two  Old  Boys,"  he  as- 
sumed the  part  of  a  young  man  in  the  first 
play,  and  he  and  James  H.  Stoddart  were 
the  "old  boys,"  in  the  second.  He  sup- 
ported Olga  Nethersole  at  Palmer's  Theatre 
on  her  first  visit  to  this  country,  and  during 
the  season  of  1893-94  he  played  a  long  en- 
gagement in  San  Francisco.  Just  before  his 
venture  as  a  star  he  acted  in  "The  Found- 
ling "  at  Hoyt's  Theatre,  New  York. 

The  Holland  brothers  made  their  debuts 
as  stars  in  the  Garrick  Theatre,  New  York, 
on  September  2,  1895,  in  "A  Man  with  a 
Past."  They  were  under  the  management 
of  Richard  Mansfield,  and  when  he  was  taken 
ill  they  were  given  the  privilege  of  bringing 
out  "  A  Social  Highwayman,"  in  which  Mr. 
Mansfield  had  intended  to  appear  himself. 


E.  M.  Holland.  69 

"  A  Social  Highwayman  "  was  dramatised  by 
Murray  A.  Stone  from  a  novel  by  Elizabeth 
Phipps  Train.  Although  the  Hollands  met 
with  gratifying  success  in  the  larger  cities, 
they  were  unable  firmly  to  establish  them- 
selves as  stellar  attractions. 


CHAPTER  V. 

EDWARD    H.    SOTHERN. 

EDWARD  H.  SOTHERN,  the  second  son  of 
E.  A.  Sothern,  the  famous  English  comedian 
and  creator  of  Lord  Dundreary,  was  born  in 
New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  on  December  6, 
1859,  as  tne  following  laconic  entry  in  his 
father's  memorandum  book  under  that  date 
conclusively  shows :  "  Boy  born  at  79  Bien- 
ville  Street  at  7  A.  M.  Named  Edward."  E. 
A.  Sothern  had  three  sons :  Lytton,  the  old- 
est, now  dead ;  Edward,  and  Sam,  also  an 
actor  and  at  present  in  England.  When  E. 
A.  Sothern  returned  home  in  1864  to  show 
Londoners  his  great  character  of  Dundreary, 
he  took  his  family  with  him.  The  father 
70 


EDWARD    H.    SOTHERN 

As  D'Artagnan  in  "  The  King's  Musketeer." 


Edward  H.  Sothern.  71 

intended  that  Edward  should  be  a  painter, 
and  with  that  end  in  view  Edward  studied 
drawing  in  England.  In  1875  the  boy  re- 
turned to  America  with  his  father  on  a 
holiday  visit,  and  four  years  later,  when 
E.  A.  Sothern  was  about  to  leave  England 
to  fill  a  theatrical  engagement  in  the  United 
States,  "  Eddie,"  as  he  was  called  to  dis- 
tinguish him  from  his  father,  announced  his 
intention  of  going,  too,  with  the  ulterior  pur- 
pose of  becoming  an  actor.  E.  A.  Sothern 
objected,  but  the  youth's  mind  was  fixed, 
and  he  made  his  debut  at  Abbey's  Park 
Theatre,  Broadway,  New  York,  in  Septem- 
ber, 1879,  as  tne  cabman  in  "Sam."  He 
amusingly  described  this  experience  in  Kate 
Field's  Washington  : 

"  All  I  had  to  do  was  to  appear,  carry  my 
hand  to  my  head  and  say,  *  Half  a  crown, 
your  honour ;  I  think  you  won't  object.' 
Not  much,  surely,  but  the  business  so  ab- 
sorbed my  agitated  brain  that  I  forgot  the 


72  Famous  Actors. 

words  and  stood  staring  at  my  father,  who 
kept  saying,  « Go  on,  go  on  ! '  His  talking 
to  me  when  I  thought  he  ought  to  be  talking 
to  the  public  upset  me  still  more,  and,  instead 
of  going  on,  I  went  off.  Father  was  very 
angry  and  wouldn't  give  me  another  chance. 
'Poor  Eddie,'  he  wrote  to  dear  old  Mrs. 
Vincent  of  the  Boston  Museum,  'is  a  nice, 
lovable  boy,  but  he  will  never  make  an 
actor.' " 

The  boy's  next  experience  was  at  the  Bos- 
ton Museum,  where  he  appeared  in  October, 
and,  according  to  Miss  Mary  Shaw,  who  made 
her  professional  debut  at  the  same  time,  his 
first  attempt  there  ended  similarly  to  his 
New  York  one.  At  the  Museum,  however, 
he  got  a  chance  to  redeem  himself,  and  was 
really  quite  a  favourite  when  his  three  or  four 
months'  engagement  ended.  The  following 
season  he  played  low  comedy  parts  in  John 
McCullough's  company,  with  which  he  re- 
mained until  his  father's  death  in  1881. 


Edward  H.  Sothern.  73 

"With  McCullough,  the  tragedian,  —  Ge- 
nial John,  as  he  was  known  to  all  his  friends, 
—  I  played  only  the  smallest  parts,"  said  Mr. 
Sothern,  "  sometimes  much  more  pedestrian 
than  elocutionary.  I  remember  a  laughable 
occurrence  at  a  small  town  where  he  and 
Lawrence  Barrett  were  appearing  together 
in  '  Richard  III.'  '  Supers '  were  very 
scarce,  and  when  the  evening  arrived,  it 
was  discovered  that  we  must  depend  upon 
our  own  resources  for  the  armies  of  the  con- 
tending powers.  This  meant  that  I,  as  the 
youngest  and  most  inexperienced  member  of 
the  company,  should  alone  go  on,  first  as  the 
army  of  the  crooked-backed  tyrant,  and  later, 
with  a  slight  change  of  costume,  as  the  con- 
quering forces  of  the  outraged  and  heroic 
Richmond. 

"  Most  of  our  auditors  were  miners,  and 
their  comments  on  the  play  were  forcible 
and  pointed  as  the  action  proceeded.  What 
they  would  say  or  do  when  they  saw  the 


74  Famous  Actors. 

wonderfully  similar  opposing  armies  was 
the  constant  surmise  of  the  company  dur- 
ing the  evening,  and  my  natural  nervousness 
was  not  much  calmed  by  the  suggestions  of 
my  associates  how  best  to  dodge  when  the 
audience  began  to  throw  things.  The  effect 
upon  Mr.  Barrett  was  to  raise  him  to  more 
than  his  usual  tension,  while  with  Mr.  Mc- 
Cullough  it  seemed  to  be  a  huge  joke  and 
brought  forward  his  propensities  for  guying. 
"  When  Richard  and  his  army  entered  the 
trouble  began,  and  poor  Mr.  Barrett  had 
great  difficulty  in  finishing  his  speech  to  his 
shivering,  almost  fainting,  soldier.  When 
Mr.  McCullough  entered,  I  followed  as 
though  going  to  my  death.  Great  was  my 
surprise,  however,  when  Mr.  McCullough 
turned  toward  me,  and,  with  the  full  strength 
of  his  thundering  voice,  said,  instead  of  the 
lines  of  the  scene :  '  Come  on,  my  solitary 
cuss,  and,  hang  me,  if  we  don't  lick  all  Eng- 
land.' The  house  was  as  still  as  death  for 


Edward  H.  Sot  hern.  75 

an  instant,  and  then  broke  forth  into  vocifer- 
ous cheering.  From  that  moment  McCul- 
lough  'had  them,'  and  when  late  in  the 
combat  scene  he  shouted  to  his  antagonist, 
« If  Barrett's  fit  to  live,  then  let  McCullough 
die,'  the  applause  was  deafening.  It  was  a 
scene  long  to  be  remembered,  and  nothing 
but  Barrett  and  McCullough  in  <  Richard 
III.'  was  talked  of  in  that  town  for  years 
afterward,  when  theatrical  subjects  were 
alluded  to." 

After  his  father  died,  Mr.  Sothern  went  to 
England  and  remained  with  his  mother  until 
she  passed  away  a  year  later.  Then  he 
travelled  through  the  British  provinces  with 
his  brother  Lytton,  who  was  playing  his 
father's  character  of  Dundreary  and  also 
David  Garrick.  Late  in  the  summer  of 
1883,  Edward  returned  to  the  United 
States,  poor  as  poverty,  and  after  much 
discouragement  was  compelled  to  take  a 
second  engagement  with  McCullough  to  act 


76  Famous  Actors. 

just  the  same  parts  that  he  had  assumed  two 
years  before.  This  proved  to  be  McCul- 
lough's  last  season  on  the  stage,  and  when 
it  reached  its  tragic  end,  Mr.  Sothern  was 
again  thrown  on  his  own  resources.  Then 
came  his  amusing  adventures  with  the  farce, 
"Whose  Are  They?"  of  which  he  was  the 
author.  Mr.  Sothern  tells  the  story  as 
follows : 

"  I  pursued  managers  until  I  got  some  of 
them  to  hear  me  read  my  mad  farce.  Dur- 
ing the  reading  I  did  all  sorts  of  absurd 
things,  and  several  that  heard  it  were  really 
quite  taken  with  it.  While  I  was  cogitating 
on  the  way  to  get  it  before  the  public,  an 
agent  wanted  some  attraction  for  a  benefit 
to  be  given  in  Baltimore  for  the  police.  '  I'll 
go,'  I  said.  There  were  seven  dramatis  per- 
sona in  the  piece,  and  the  management 
offered  me  $300.  Four  weeks  I  rehearsed 
those  actors,  and  when  the  night  came  the 
farce  went  uproariously.  I  thought  my  for- 


Edward  H.  Sot/tern.  77 

tune  secure,  and  with  the  remnants  of  my 
$300  I  gave  a  supper  to  my  company.  I 
tried  Brooklyn.  Result,  fine  notices  and 
$400.  My  next  ambition  was  to  feel  the 
pulse  of  New  York,  and  I  accepted  ruinous 
terms  for  two  weeks  at  the  Star  Theatre. 
The  first  week  was  all  right  financially ;  the 
second  week  swept  everything  away.  Yet, 
buoyed  up  by  the  hope  that  springs  eternal 
in  the  human  breast,  I  took  out  a  company 
for  ten  weeks,  and  we  went  to  pieces  in 
Chicago.  I  left  my  luggage  to  secure  my 
bills,  and  returned  to  New  York,  where  I 
once  more  read  my  farce  to  various  mana- 
gers. Harrison  and  Gourley  were  delighted 
with  it.  They  proved  their  faith  by  paying 
me  $500  down  for  immediate  possession,  and 
promising  me  $1,500  more,  if,  after  a  week's 
trial,  the  piece  was  a  go.  Gourley  went  so 
far  as  to  exclaim,  'Why  do  you  want  to  act 
when  you  can  write  plays  like  this  ? '  Calling 
the  farce  '  Domestic  Earthquakes/  these 


7  8  Famous  Actors. 

managers  produced  it  in  Boston  with  dire 
results.  'Veal  and  green  peas,'  said  the 
press.  I  did  not  receive  the  expected 
$1,500,  and  I've  never  looked  at  'Domestic 
Earthquakes'  since." 

Next  Mr.  Sothern  was  engaged  by  Charles 
Frohman  for  "  Nita's  First,"  and  subsequently 
played  in  "  Three  Wives  to  One  Husband." 
Later  he  supported  Estelle  Clayton  in  "Fa- 
vette  "  in  New  York  and  on  tour.  In  1884 
he  appeared  with  Helen  Dauvray  in  "  Mona," 
continuing  with  her  through  two  seasons, 
during  which  time  he  played  Prosper  Coura- 
mont  in  "  A  Scrap  of  Paper,"  Doctor  Lee  in 
"  Met  by  Chance,"  Ernest  Vane  in  "  Peg 
Woffington,"  Wildrake  in  "The  Love  Chase," 
Andre"  in  "  Walda  Lamar,"  and  Captain  Greg- 
ory in  "  One  of  Our  Girls,"  This  last  charac- 
ter he  acted  in  1886,  and  from  that  moment 
his  fortunes  took  an  upward  turn.  In  the 
spring  of  1887  Daniel  Frohman  gave  him  a 
chance  to  appear  as  Jack  Hammerton  in 


Edward  H.  Sothern.  79 

"  The  Highest  Bidder,"  and  his  success  was 
so  great  that  he  began  his  starring  career  in 
that  play  the  following  fall. 

"  The  Highest  Bidder  "  was  a  light  comedy 
by  John  Madison  Morton,  the  author  of  "  Box 
and  Cox "  and  a  number  of  other  English 
farces,  and  Robert  Reece.  It  was  found 
among  the  effects  of  the  elder  Sothern, 
who  had  named  it  "  Trade."  Edward  Sothern 
touched  it  up,  rewrote  parts  of  it,  and  gave 
it  its  new  title. 

During  the  season  of  1887-88,  while  star- 
ring in  "  The  Highest  Bidder,"  Mr.  Sothern 
brought  out  "  Editha's  Burglar,"  in  which  he 
played  Bill  Lewis,  the  burglar,  the  best  part 
he  had  had  up  to  that  time.  This  produc- 
tion also  introduced  to  the  public  the  child 
actress,  Elsie  Leslie,  later  one  of  the  most 
famous  of  the  little  Lord  Fauntleroys,  and 
last  season  a  member  of  the  Joseph  Jefferson 
company.  "  Lord  Chumley,"  which  Belasco 
and  DeMille  wrote  for  Mr.  Sothern,  was 


8o  Famous  Actors. 

first  acted  in  the  fall  of  1888,  and  proved 
a  great  success.  Mr.  Sothern  hesitated  a 
long  time  before  he  decided  to  try  this  char- 
acter, as  he  feared  that  it  had  qualities  that 
might  bring  him  into  too  direct  comparison 
with  his  father  as  Dundreary.  His  fears 
were  groundless,  however,  for  his  treatment 
of  the  part  was  original  throughout.  Mr. 
Sothern  had  now  become  a  recognised  fac- 
tor in  the  American  theatre,  and  his  new 
characters,  each  one  showing  a  decided  ad- 
vance in  authority  and  artistic  ease,  added 
constantly  to  his  reputation  as  a  come- 
dian. 

"Captain  Lettarblair"  and  "The  Maister 
of  Woodbarrow"  followed  "Lord  Chumley," 
and  then  came  "  The  Dancing  Girl,"  which 
afforded  Mr.  Sothern  a  character  of  remark- 
able subtlety.  It  was  a  strong  bit  of  acting, 
excelling  in  finesse  and  suggestive  repose. 
"The  Victoria  Cross,"  a  melodramatic  play, 
dealing  with  the  mutiny  in  India,  was  not 


Edward  H.  Sothern.  8 1 

a  success,  but  its  successor,  "  The  Way  to 
Win  a  Woman,"  by  Jerome  K.  Jerome,  first 
played  at  the  Hollis  Street  Theatre,  Boston, 
in  1894,  gave  further  evidence  of  the  in- 
creased power  of  the  actor.  Paul  Potter's 
costume  play,  "  Sheridan,  or  the  Maid  of 
Bath,"  an  ingenuous  compilation  from  Rich- 
ard Brinsley  Sheridan's  comedies,  preceded 
"  The  Prisoner  of  Zenda,"  which  ushered  in 
the  third  period  of  Mr.  Sothern' s  develop- 
ment. He  now  became  recognised  as  a 
romantic  actor,  and  "An  Enemy  to  the 
King  "  was  a  natural  sequence.  "  Change 
Alley."  Mr.  Sothern's  next  venture,  proved 
to  be  a  very  bad  play,  and  "  The  Lady  of 
Lyons "  was  substituted,  with  the  star  as 
Claude  Melnotte.  Sir  George,  in  Anthony 
Hope's  "The  Adventure  of  Lady  Ursula," 
followed,  but  this  character  made  no  extra- 
ordinary demand  on  the  actor's  art.  Last 
season  he  was  seen  in  "  A  Colonial  Girl," 
a  drama  of  Revolutionary  times,  by  Grace 


82  Famous  Actors. 

Livingston  Furniss  and  Abby  Sage  Richard- 
son, and  "  The  King's  Musketeer,"  Henry 
Hamilton's  version  of  Dumas's  "The  Three 
Musketeers." 

"The  King's  Musketeer"  was  an  elabo- 
rately staged  affair,  and  a  tremendous  popu- 
lar success.  That  is  about  all  the  good  that 
can  be  said  of  it,  for  such  a  frankly  theat- 
rical play  never  was  seen  before.  To  the 
character  of  D'Artagnan  Mr.  Sothern  gave 
the  proper  amount  of  dash  and  spirit  and 
unconscious  humour.  His  nai'vete  in  the 
opening  scenes  was  capital,  and  particularly 
attractive  were  those  sharp,  wide-open  eyes 
that  so  well  expressed  wonder,  curiosity,  and 
native  shrewdness.  Aside  from  its  super- 
ficial swagger,  which  comes  as  a  sort  of 
second  nature  to  the  actor  skilled  in  roman- 
tic parts,  and  the  necessary  prominence  of 
the  character,  there  was  nothing  in  the  r61e 
that  appealed  to  the  actor,  no  imagination,  no 
depth  of  motive,  no  heart. 


Edward  H.  Sot  hern.  83 

To  complete  the  story  of  Mr.  Sothern's 
private  life  it  is  but  necessary  to  add  that 
in  1896  he  married  Virginia  Harned,  who 
for  several  seasons  had  been  his  leading 
lady. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

JOHN    DREW. 

JOHN  DREW'S  theatrical  career  naturally 
divides  itself  into  three  periods  :  From  1873, 
the  time  he  made  his  debut  in  the  Arch 
Street  Theatre,  Philadelphia,  which  was  then 
under  the  management  of  his  mother,  until 
1879,  when  he  became  leading  man  of  Au- 
gustin  Daly's  New  York  company ;  from 
1879  ^1  1892,  when  he  became  a  star; 
and  from  1892  until  the  present  time.  A 
keen  estimate  of  Mr.  Drew  was  that  of 
William  Winter,  who  had  been  familiar  with 
the  actor's  work  for  years.  The  criticism 
appeared  in  the  New  York  Tribune  of 
October  4,  1892,  the  morning  after  Mr. 
84 


JOHN    DREW. 


John  Drew.  85 

Drew's   first  appearance  as  a  star  in  "  The 
Masked  Ball."     Mr.  Winter  said  : 

"Mr.  Drew  is  especially  welcome  because 
he  represents,  in  the  art  of  comedy,  the 
spirit  of  youth  and  hope  and  joy.  In  our 
utilitarian  civilisation  there  is  need  of  the 
joyous  element,  and  men  and  women  by 
whom  it  is  imported  are  public  benefactors. 
The  ministration  of  mere  hilarity,  indeed,  is 
an  influence  that  has  been  pushed  to  excess, 
and  it  ought  to  be  repressed  rather  than 
invigorated ;  for  it  promotes  vacuity  of 
mind,  pertness,  slang,  and  a  coarse  and  com- 
mon strain  of  manners.  The  ministration  of 
joy,  on  the  contrary,  is  a  sweet  and  gentle 
influence,  diffusing  refinement,  humour,  and 
kindness,  and  its  augmented  prosperity  must 
ever  be  deemed  a  public  benefit.  In  each 
successive  theatrical  generation  this  spirit  has 
had  its  representatives,  —  actors  who  have 
gained  the  affection  as  well  as  the  admiration 
of  the  people  by  contributing  to  make  them 


86  Famous  Actors. 

happy.  Estcourt  and  Wilks  and  Lee  Lewis 
and  Bannister,  the  late  Charles  Mathews, 
and  the  late  Lester  Wallack,  were  artists  of 
that  kind,  and  John  Drew  comes  of  that 
lineage,  and  surely  has  earned  a  rank  in  that 
honourable  company. 

"  The  American  audience  of  to-day  is  not 
prone  to  precipitate  recognition  of  fine  abili- 
ties in  persons  who  do  not  claim  preeminence. 
Amid  the  strife  and  din  of  the  passing  hour 
you  must  blow  a  trumpet  if  you  wish  to  be 
heard.  The  actor  who  has  proved  his  right 
should  not  be  hastily  censured  for  wishing  to 
see  his  name  printed  in  capital  letters  at  the 
head  of  the  bill.  Many  spectators  will  discern 
virtues  in  him,  when  that  is  done,  which  they 
never  perceived  before.  It  is  the  way  of  the 
world.  And  yet,  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Drew,  a 
liberal  measure  of  popular  appreciation  might 
well  be  assumed.  His  presence  for  years 
has  been  delightfully  familiar.  He  is  an 
image  of  grace.  He  possesses  repose,  indi- 


John  Drew.  87 

viduality,  coolness,  drollery,  the  talent  of 
apparent  spontaneity,  and  the  faculty  of 
crisp  emotion,  his  countenance  is  not  mobile  ; 
his  style  is  not  distinctly  flexible ;  and  he  has 
never  yet  shown  the  impetuosity,  the  over- 
whelming brilliance,  the  '  gig'  of  such  fine  old 
comedy  actors  as  Frederick  and  Murdock  and 
Mathews  and  Wallack,  at  their  best.  He 
notably  fell  short  of  their  standard,  for  in- 
stance, in  '  Mirabel ; '  he  has  yet  to  win  their 
laurels  in  such  characters  as  Harry  Dornton 
and  Doricourt  and  Don  Felix. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  he  gained  an  admira- 
ble eminence  as  Charles  Surface,  and  he  has 
surpassed  all  the  young  actors  of  his  day  as 
the  gay  cavalier  and  the  bantering  farceur  of 
the  drawing-room  drama  of  modern  social 
life.  His  grace,  person,  and  temperament  are 
admirably  harmonious  with  characters  of  the 
strain  denoted  by  Sir  Charles  Coldstream 
and  by  Jasper,  —  opposites,  yet  participants 
in  the  same  elemental  qualities.  His  vein  of 


88  Famous  Actors. 

quizzical  wonder  is  natural,  and  it  is  uncom- 
monly rich  and  deep.  He  can  alternate  bland 
composure  with  playful  celerity,  and  he  can 
create  effects  of  mirth  with  both.  He  speaks 
the  language  clearly,  sweetly,  and  with  fine 
precision.  He  knows  the  full  value  of  the 
pause,  the  glance,  the  inflection,  the  sapient 
look,  and  the  demure  manner.  He  is  delight- 
ful in  the  vein  of  equivoke,  and  has  an  abso- 
lute command  of  it.  He  is  thoroughly  in 
earnest,  and  his  attitude  toward  his  art  is  that 
of  intellectual  purpose  and  authority.  Mr. 
Drew's  acting,  furthermore,  is  illumined  with 
the  lustre  of  high  principle,  personal  purity, 
and  a  life  of  thought  and  refinement.  Noble- 
ness and  grace  in  art  are  absolutely  depend- 
ent on  nobleness  and  grace  in  life ;  no  actor 
reaches  the  distinction  to  which  Mr.  Drew 
has  attained  without  deserving  it." 

Mr.  Drew  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  in 
November,  1853.  He  was  the  son  of  John 
Drew,  one  of  the  best  all-round  comedians 


John  Drew.  89 

and  Irish  character  actors  that  this  country 
has  ever  known,  and  Mrs.  John  Drew,  best 
known  to  the  latter  generation  as  Mrs.  Mala- 
prop  in  the  Joseph  Jefferson  productions  of 
"The  Rivals."  John  Drew,  Sr.,  died  in  1862, 
while  he  was  manager  of  the  Arch  Street 
Theatre,  and  after  his  death,  Mrs.  Drew  took 
charge  of  the  theatre  and  maintained  a  stock 
company  there  until  the  fall  of  1877.  Mrs. 
Drew  died  on  August  31,  1897,  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  seventy-seven  years. 

John  Drew  made  his  first  appearance  on 
the  stage  in  his  mother's  theatre  on  March 
23,  1873,  as  Plumber  in  Charles  Mathews's 
farce,  "Cool  as  a  Cucumber."  His  second 
part  was  Hornblower  in  "The  Laughing 
Hyena,"  and  others  of  his  characters  were 
Adolph  de  Courtroy  in  "  The  Captain  of  the 
Watch,"  Cummy  in  "  Betsy  Baker,"  Captain 
Crosstree  in  "Black-eyed  Susan,"  Dolly 
Spanker  in  "  London  Assurance,"  Caspar 
in  "The  Lady  of  Lyons,"  and  Modas  in 


90  Famous  Actors. 

"The  Hunchback."  Mr.  Drew  remained 
in  Philadelphia  two  years,  "  without,"  as  he 
expressed  it,  "playing  roles  that  made  a 
particular  impression  with  the  audience  or 
myself." 

Augustin  Daly  first  saw  Mr.  Drew  act  in 
1875.  The  character  was  Major  Alfred 
Steele,  in  a  comedy  called  "Women  of  the 
Day."  Mr.  Daly  bought  the  play  and  pro- 
duced it  at  his  New  York  theatre  with  James 
Lewis  in  the  leading  part.  A  few  weeks 
later  he  made  Mr.  Drew  an  offer,  which  was 
accepted,  and  in  February,  1875,  Mr.  Drew 
appeared  with  the  Daly  company  as  Bob 
Ruggles  in  "The  Big  Bonanza."  In  1876 
he  played  his  first  Shakespearian  role,  Rosen- 
cranz  in  "  Hamlet,"  when  Edwin  Booth  was 
occupying  Daly's  theatre  by  special  arrange- 
ment. He  also  acted  Exton  in  "  Richard  II.," 
Frangois  in  "Richelieu,"  Francis  in  "The 
Stranger,"  Glavis  in  "The  Lady  of  Lyons," 
and  Hortensio  in  "The  Taming  of  the 


John  Drew.  91 

Shrew."  Two  seasons  were  spent  touring 
the  country  with  Fanny  Davenport,  whose 
repertory  included  "  As  You  Like  It "  and  a 
number  of  the  Daly  plays,  one  of  them 
"  Pique."  After  Mr.  Daly  gave  up  the 
Fifth  Avenue  Theatre,  Mr.  Drew  acted  one 
season  with  Frederick  Warde  and  Maurice 
Barrymore,  who  were  starring  in  "  Diplo- 
macy." 

When  Mr.  Daly  established  his  new  thea- 
tre in  1879,  Mr.  Drew  became  the  leading 
man  of  the  company,  of  which  Ada  Rehan 
was  the  leading  lady,  and  this  position  Mr. 
Drew  retained  until  1892.  Among  the 
Shakespearian  plays  in  which  he  appeared 
were  "  The  Taming  of  the  Shrew,"  "  As  You 
Like  It,"  "A  Midsummer  Night's  Dream," 
"Love's  Labours  Lost,"  and  "The  Merry 
Wives  of  Windsor."  He  also  acted  in  the 
various  revivals  of  old  comedies  such  as 
"The  Inconstant,"  "She  Would  and  She 
Wouldn't,"  "The  Country  Girl,"  and  "The 


92  Famous  Actors. 

School  for  Scandal."  It  would  make  a  long 
list  to  cite  all  the  plays  produced  at  Daly's  in 
which  he  acted  light  comedy  rdles.  They 
included  all  of  Mr.  Daly's  adaptations,  such 
as  "The  Lottery  of  Love,"  "The  Railroad  of 
Love,"  "Dollars  and  Sense,"  "A  Night 
Off,"  "Seven-Twenty-Eight,"  "Nancy  and 
Co.,"  "The  Last  Word,"  and  "Love  in 
Tandem."  Mr.  Drew  went  to  London  with 
the  Daly  company  in  1884,  1886,  1888,  and 
1890. 

Since  he  became  a  star,  Mr:  Drew  has 
acted,  besides  his  first  play,  "The  Masked 
Ball,"  Frederick  Ossian  in  Henry  Guy  Carle- 
ton's  "The  Butterflies,"  "Christopher,  Jr.," 
by  Madeline  Lucette  Riley,  "The  Bauble 
Shop,"  by  Henry  Arthur  Jones,  Sir  Jasper 
Thorndyke  in  "  Rosemary,"  "  A  Marriage  of 
Convenience,"  Major  Dick  Rudyard  in  "  One 
Summer's  Day,"  by  Henry  V.  Esmond,  and 
Sir  Christopher  Deering  in  "  The  Liars,"  by 
Henry  Arthur  Jones. 


John  Drew.  93 

"  The  Liars  "  was  a  typical  Henry  Arthur 
Jones  drama,  brilliantly  witty,  keenly  satiri- 
cal, frankly  cynical,  and  absolutely  artificial. 
There  was  just  enough  truth  in  the  play  to 
drive  home  the  satire,  and  consequently  the 
comedy  was  very  amusing,  —  it  is  always  fun 
to  have  the  other  fellow  hit,  and  Mr.  Jones 
hit  him  hard  and  often.  Mr.  Drew  had  a 
character  whose  chief  duty  was  to  meddle 
adroitly  in  everybody  else's  business,  and  he 
acted  it  with  that  easy,  nonchalant,  man-of- 
the-world  air  of  which  he  is  a  complete  mas- 
ter. There  was  a  bit  of  honest  human  nature 
in  the  last  act,  and  Mr.  Drew  was  convinc- 
ingly sincere  when  he  placed  before  the 
erring  Lady  Jessica  Mr.  Jones's  worldly-wise 
argument  about  a  married  woman's  duty  to 
herself,  her  family,  and  society.  Mr.  Jones, 
too,  was  thoroughly  in  earnest  when  he  wrote 
the  argument,  the  only  one  that  would  have 
moved  the  pretty,  deceitful,  selfish,  and  nar- 
row-minded butterfly  of  fashion. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

WILLIAM    FAVERSHAM. 

WILLIAM  FAVERSHAM  is  what  is  called,  in 
the  "gush"  columns  of  the  Sunday  news- 
papers, "  a  matinee  girl's  ideal,"  but  in  addi- 
tion to  that  he  is  a  very  good  actor.  For 
three  seasons  Mr.  Faversham  has  held  the 
position  of  leading  man  in  Charles  Frohman's 
Empire  Theatre  Company,  certainly 'as  good 
an  organisation  as  we  have  in  the  country, 
and  his  work  during  that  time  has  always 
been  excellent  and  occasionally  more  than 
that.  Still,  while  recognising  the  adequacy  of 
his  technique  and  the  general  sufficiency  of 
his  art,  one  might  wish  for  more  spontaneity, 
more  frankness,  and  more  positiveness  in  his 
acting.  A  little  less  artificiality  and  a  little 
94 


WILLIAM    FAVERSHAM 
As  Eric  Von  Rodeck  in  "The  Conquerors.' 


William  Faversham.  95 

more  nature  would  add  wonderfully  to  the 
effectiveness  of  Mr.  Faversham's  work  on 
the  stage. 

Physically,  he  is  a  handsome  fellow,  tall, 
broad-shouldered,  and  manly-looking.  He 
suggests  the  masculine ;  he  looks  muscular, 
vigorous  and  healthy.  He  is  a  modern 
young  man,  under  all  circumstances,  with  an 
indescribable  up-to-dateness  even  when  ar- 
rayed as  Romeo  in  sixteenth  century  gar- 
ments. Mr.  Faversham  is  at  his  best  in 
characters  requiring  buoyancy  and  vivacity  of 
spirits  and  rapid  and  energetic  action,  —  ac- 
tion, moreover,  that  is  open,  and  above  board 
without  subtilty  or  ingenuousness.  For  this 
reason,  while  he  makes  a  splendid  lover  during 
heroic  moments,  when  there  is  danger  to  be 
overcome  or  enemies  to  be  conquered,  he  is 
not  so  successful  in  the  r61e  of  the  sentimental 
lover.  He  does  not  propose  well.  This 
may  seem  a  trivial  and  foolish  point,  but  it 
really  is  not  to  the  actor  who  holds  the  posi- 


96  Famous  Actors. 

tion  of  leading  man  in  a  prominent  company. 
He  may  act  ten  or  a  dozen  different  charac- 
ters in  a  season,  yet  always  he  is  in  love,  and 
nine  times  out  of  ten  he  has  to  propose. 
Some  players  seem  to  have  the  knack  of 
"  popping  the  question  "  prettily  born  in  them 
and  apparently  make  love  by  instinct.  John 
Mason,  who  used  to  be  leading  man  at  the  Bos- 
ton Museum  Stock  Company,  was  such  a  one, 
and  his  wooing  set  every  susceptible  heart 
in  the  theatre  to  fluttering.  Others  acquire 
the  art,  and  still  others  seem  never  to  be 
able  to  act  the  part  of  the  lover.  It  was  so 
with  Edwin  Booth. 

Mr.  Faversham  apparently  is  not  a  natural 
lover,  but  there  surely  is  no  reason  why  he 
should  not  be  educated  into  one.  Judging, 
not  by  the  sad  and  sorrowful  expression  of 
his  countenance  when  he  folds  in  his  arms  a 
young  woman  who  warrants  a  smile  at  least, 
but  by  the  sympathetic  atmosphere  which  he 
unquestionably  does  create  at  such  a  moment, 


William  Faversham.  97 

Mr.  Faversham  is  not  altogether  in  ignorance 
of  the  emotion  that  he  is  trying  to  convey. 
If  the  theory  be  true  that  he  has  the  concep- 
tion all  right,  but  fails  fully  to  express  it,  he 
should  be  able  without  much  difficulty  to 
remedy  this  fault. 

In  Erie  Von  Rosdeck,  the  Babe  in 
"  The  Conquerors,"  —  Paul  Potter's  audacious 
drama,  whose  immorality  was  not  half  so 
startling  as  one  might  think  after  reading 
what  the  critics  said  about  it,  —  Mr.  Faver- 
sham had  a  character  very  much  in  his  line. 
There  was  action,  plenty  of  it,  and  often 
brutally  pointed.  There  were  to  be  por- 
trayed the  masculine  vices  and  one  or  two  — 
possibly  only  one  —  of  the  masculine  virtues. 
There  were  military  uniforms  to  be  worn, 
and  there  was  no  love-making  —  of  the  nice, 
genteel  sort  I  mean.  Mr.  Faver sham's  Lord 
Wheatley,  in  "Phroso,"  was  another  capital 
impersonation,  attractive  as  a  personality,  full 
of  life  and  virility,  and  interesting  as  a  char- 


98  Famous  Actors. 

acterisation.  Unfortunately,  the  play  itself 
was  a  melodrama  in  which  coherency  had 
been  sacrificed  to  make  room  for  situations. 
"  Phroso  "  made  no  great  impression  in  either 
Boston  or  New  York,  the  only  two  cities 
in  which  it  was  represented,  and  did  not 
last  any  length  of  time.  Mr.  Faversham's 
impersonation  of  Romeo  at  the  end  of  last 
season  was  on  the  whole  a  successful  one. 
He  was  very  modern,  to  be  sure,  but  that  was 
a  fault  which  he  shared  with  nearly  every 
young  actor  of  the  present  time  who  has  tried 
Shakespearian  r61es.  The  early  scenes  of  the 
tragedy  he  played  with  admirable  lightness 
and  deftness,  though  without  the  touch  of 
melancholy  and  largely  without  the  reserve 
that  the  text  indicates.  There  was  evidence 
of  passion  in  the  balcony  scene.  The  dig- 
nity of  the  first  part  of  the  scene  with  Tybalt 
was  marked,  and  the  duel  was  fought  with  re- 
alistic ferocity.  The  showing  of  grief  when 
the  decree  of  banishment  was  learned  was  not 


William  Faversham.  99 

weakened  by  overacting,  and  the  death  scene 
was  really  tragic. 

William  Faversham  is  an  Englishman.  He 
was  born  in  1868  and  was  educated  for  the 
army.  He  attended  the  grammar  school 
at  Chigwell,  one  of  the  preparatory  schools 
for  Harrow.  Charles  Dickens's  "Barnaby 
Rudge  "  is  placed  at  Chigwell,  and  it  was  in 
the  midst  of  the  scenes  depicted  in  that  novel 
that  Mr.  Faversham  passed  his  boyhood.  He 
went  next  to  Harrow,  and  when  he  finished 
his  schooling  there,  the  opportunity  came  to 
send  a  number  of  youngsters  to  India  to  join 
the  English  forces  in  that  country.  Mr. 
Faversham  had  two  brothers  in  the  Fif- 
teenth Hussars,  and  when  he  was  sixteen 
years  old  he  went  to  Bombay  to  join  that 
regiment  as  a  petty  officer. 

Marie  de  Gray,  an  actress,  was  touring 
India  at  the  time,  and  with  her  was  an  actor 
named  Piffard,  with  whom  Mr.  Faversham 
became  acquainted.  The  soldier  soon  grew 


IOO  Famous  Actors. 

to  feel  more  interest  in  the  stage  than  he 
did  in  the  barracks.  "  I  enjoyed  the  military 
schools,  especially  the  riding  school,  but  I 
did  not  care  for  army  life,"  said  Mr.  Faver- 
sham.  It  was  his  friend  Piffard  that  finally 
advised  him  to  quit  soldiering  and  turn 
player. 

The  Afghan  war  broke  out  while  the  ques- 
tion was  under  consideration,  and  the  Fif- 
teenth Hussars  were  ordered  to  the  front. 
Mr.  Faversham's  brothers  succeeded  in  get- 
ting him  invalided  home  just  in  time  to  es- 
cape the  fighting.  Mr.  Faversham  lost  his 
two  brothers  and  a  cousin  in  that  war.  "  Of 
course  my  going  home  was  a  farce,"  he  re- 
marked. "  I  was  perfectly  well,  but  I  was  glad 
enough  to  get  back  to  England,  just  the  same. 
By  sending  me  this  way  I  got  my  passage, 
and  simply  had  to  report  to  headquarters  in 
London  and  get  my  discharge  papers." 

No  sooner  was  he  free  from  the  army  than 
he  began  to  prepare  himself  for  the  stage. 


William  Faversham.  101 

He  studied  first  with  Charlotte  ;L;e  -Ckrq, 
and  made  his  debut  at  one  of  her  matinees, 
on  February  12,  1886,  at- .  the:,  IVaujdeviik 
Theatre,  London,  with  a  number  of  others 
who  were  her  pupils.  Mr.  Faversham  ap- 
peared that  afternoon  in  "The  Swiss  Cot- 
tage," "Blanche  Horlock,"  and  "The  Loan 
of  a  Lover,"  besides  a  little  comic  opera. 
His  work  attracted  enough  attention  to  se- 
cure him  an  engagement  in  the  provinces. 
At  first  he  played  old  men,  making  a  try  at 
Sir  Peter  Teazle  when  he  was  nineteen  years 
old,  but  the  leading  man  of  the  company  was 
taken  sick  after  a  few  weeks,  and  Mr.  Faver- 
sham succeeded  to  his  characters,  among 
them  Charles  Surface  and  Hamlet. 

He  next  joined  a  stock  company  at  Rams- 
gate,  where  he  remained  seven  months.  The 
bill  was  changed  several  times  weekly,  and 
the  young  actor  fell  heir  to  all  sorts  of  char- 
acters, among  them  Claude  Melnotte,  Lord 
Bertie  Cecil  in  "  Moths,  "  Correze  in  "  Under 


IO2  Famous  Actors. 

Two  Flags,'-  and  Dick  Swiveller.  "  Many  a 
night,"  said  Mr,  Faversham,  "  I  lay  out  on 
the  jetty  in  my  topcoat  and  studied  my 
part  by  the  flare  of  the  lighthouse  —  and  fell 
asleep  there.  One  of  my  greatest  successes 
was  Quilp,  which  I  played  when  Horace 
Barry,  the  manager,  who  was  the  husband  of 
Maude  Elliston,  the  star  of  the  troupe,  fell  ill. 
I  was  very  proud  of  that  performance  and 
enjoyed  it,  for  I  always  thought  old  Quilp  a 
great  character." 

Mr.  Faversham  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1887  in  the  company  that  was  brought  to 
this  country  to  support  the  beautiful  English 
barmaid,  Helen  Hastings,  whom  somebody 
wanted  to  make  over  into  an  actress.  She 
appeared  at  the  Union  Square  Theatre  in 
New  York,  in  a  play  called  "  Pen  and  Ink," 
and  failed.  Two  others  in  her  company,  who 
remained  in  the  United  States,  where  they 
made  positions  for  themselves,  were  Ida 
Vernon  and  W.  J.  Ferguson. 


William  Faversham.  103 

After  the  Helen  Hastings  fiasco  Mr.  Faver- 
sham was  engaged  by  Daniel  Frohman  to  join 
his  forces  in  the  fall  and  to  remain  with  him  for 
five  years.  In  the  spring  he  acted  for  a  few 
weeks  with  E.  H.  Sothern  in  "  The  Highest 
Bidder,"  and  then  came  summer,  and  with  it 
an  experience,  regarding  which  Mr.  Faver- 
sham tells  the  following  story  : 

"  That  summer  was  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting of  my  whole  career  to  me.  At  that 
time  I  was  almost  a  stranger  here.  I  had  no 
money.  I  had  possibly  earned  something 
like  twenty  dollars  a  week,  and  the  long 
vacation  was  before  me.  I  gave  up  my 
modest  room  at  the  hotel,  and  for  a  few 
weeks  lived  as  best  I  could,  selling  what  few 
things  I  had  that  could  be  sold.  I  finally 
had  nothing  left  but  my  dog  Sambo,  a  famous 
bull.  Every  one  knows  Sambo. 

"  Finally  I  made  up  my  mind  that  I  must 
get  work.  One  day  I  took  my  dog  and 
walked  up  Harlem  way,  until  I  reached  High 


IO4  Famous  Actors. 

Bridge.  I  stood  watching  the  men  at  work 
until  it  occurred  to  me  that  I  might  get 
something  like  that  to  do.  I  went  up  to  a 
man  who  seemed  to  be  an  overseer,  and 
asked  him  if  there  was  any  work  around  that 
a  fellow  might  get  to  do.  I  suppose  I  had 
a  very  British  accent,  for  the  man  laughed 
outright  and  mimicked  me  as  he  replied 
that  there  was  work  to  be  had,  but  he 
doubted  if  I  was  the  man  to  do  it.  I  ex- 
plained that  the  truth  of  the  matter  was,  I 
had  never  done  anything  of  that  sort  before, 
but  that  I  was  broke  and  wanted  to  get 
through  the  summer. 

"  He  sent  for  a  fellow  named  Tom  Pil- 
grim. I'll  never  forget  him.  He  was  the 
plumber-pipe  layer.  Pilgrim  took  me  home 
with  him  and  taught  me  his  trade.  In  four 
days  I  could  'wipe  a  joint*  like  an  old  hand. 
I  worked  all  that  summer.  I  used  to  get 
up  at  half-past  four,  get  to  work  at  five, 
put  in  my  ten  hours  a  day,  earn  my  nine 


William  Faversham.  105 

or  ten  dollars  a  week,  sleep  as  I  had  never 
slept  in  my  life,  and  eat  my  bread  and  cheese 
with  an  appetite  and  a  relish  that  I  have 
vainly  sought  to  duplicate  ever  since.  I 
might  never  have  abandoned  that  life,  and 
returned  to  acting,  but  for  an  accident. 

"  I  had  friends  living  not  far  away  —  Tre- 
mont  Avenue.  One  day  I  was  lying  out  on 
the  grass,  looking  up  in  the  sky,  with  Sambo 
by  my  side,  when  this  family  drove  by. 
Sambo  was  too  well  known.  I  heard  a  voice 
I  knew  call  out  my  name.  I  took  to  my 
heels  as  a  natural  impulse,  and  dodged  be- 
hind a  house.  My  pursuer  went  the  other 
way.  We  met. 

"There  was  nothing  for  it  then  but  to 
make  a  clean  breast  of  the  whole  thing. 
Such  a  weeping  and  wailing  you  never 
heard.  Why  didn't  I  tell  them  my  fix? 
How  could  I  do  such  a  thing?  No  one 
seemed  to  understand  at  all,  except  the  old 
gentleman,  who  said,  '  No,  by  Jove,  it's  the 


io6  Famous  Actors. 

proper  spirit.  It  won't  hurt  him  a  bit.' 
It  didn't,  it  did  me  good.  But  of  course, 
now  I  was  discovered,  I  had  to  go  back 
to  civilisation." 

Mr.  Faversham's  first  appearance  that  fall 
was  as  Leo  in  «  She."  He  next  played  Robert 
Grey  in  "The  Wife,"  after  which  Mr.  Froh- 
man  loaned  him  to  Minnie  Maddern,  and  he 
acted  with  her  Jacob  Henderson  in  "  Ca- 
price," Carrol  Glendenning  in  "In  Spite  of 
All,"  Valentine  and  Don  Stephano  in  "  Feath- 
erbrain," and  Helmer  in  "  A  Doll's  House." 
When  Miss  Maddern  retired  from  the  stage 
in  1890,  Mr.  Faversham  returned  to  the 
Lyceum  Company,  and  appeared  there  as 
Clement  Hale  in"  Sweet  Lavender."  His  next 
engagement  was  with  Elsie  Leslie  in  "The 
Prince  and  the  Pauper,"  in  which  he  played 
Lord  Seymour.  The  next  season  Mr.  Faver- 
sham acted  the  leading  r61e,  Alfred  Hast- 
ings, in  the  New  York  run  of  Gillette's 
farce,  "All  the  Comforts  of  Home." 


William  Pavers  ham.  107 

Mr.  Faversham  became  connected  with  the 
Empire  Theatre  Company  in  1893,  being 
selected  after  his  hit  in  Bronson  Howard's 
"Aristocracy,"  at  Palmer's  Theatre.  He 
played  seconds  to  Henry  Miller,  his  most 
vivid  impersonations  being  Ned  Annesley,  in 
"Sowing  the  Wind,"  Hubert  Garlinge  in 
"John-a-Dreams,"  and  Lord  Skene  in  "The 
Masqueraders."  In  August,  1896,  at  the 
Baldwin  Theatre  in  San  Francisco,  he  made 
his  first  appearance  as  the  leading  man  of 
the  Empire  Company,  acting  in  "  Bohemia," 
"  The  Councillor's  Wife,"  "  The  Benefit  of  the 
Doubt,"  and  "  The  Masqueraders."  The  next 
year  he  was  seen  as  Gil  de  Berault  in 
"Under  the  Red  Robe."  Mr.  Faversham's 
greatest  success  last  season  was  as  Lord 
Algy  in  "  Lord  and  Lady  Algy,"  which  was  pro- 
duced at  the  Empire  Theatre  in  New  York  on 
February  14,  1899.  Regarding  the  produc- 
tion of  the  play  in  New  York,  and  Mr.  Faver- 
ham's  part  in  it,  Norman  Hapgood  wrote : 


io8  Famous  Actors. 

"  This  new  comedy  is  far  from  subtle  or 
profound,  but  it  is  assuredly  smart  and  in- 
spiring. It  is  superficial,  but  the  surface  is 
amusing.  Neat,  compact,  progressive  in  con- 
struction, it  is  sharp  and  tart  in  dialogue, 
and  clear  and  dramatic  in  its  situations.  The 
author  knows  his  business,  an  excellent  thing 
for  an  author  to  know.  It  belongs  to  the 
brassy  Oscar  Wilde  type  of  comedy,  but  it 
is  good  after  its  kind,  which  is  all  we  need 
to  ask.  There  is  no  character  creation,  and 
none  is  needed.  The  only  jars  are,  perhaps, 
due  to  its  British  origin.  We  Americans 
do  not  understand  how  anybody  but  chumps 
can  have  all  their  thoughts  concentrated  in 
horses,  or  make  such  a  fuss,  even  in  fun, 
over  cigarettes  and  drinks.  Women  smoke 
or  they  don't,  which  seems  to  end  the  matter. 
This  foreign  stress  on  matters,  which  seem 
to  be  deemed  half  sinful  and  wholly  smart, 
doesn't  need  to  be  condemned,  for  it  is 
always  intelligent  to  give  the  unknown  the 


William  Pavers  ham.  109 

benefit  of  the  doubt.  Only  fools  are  so 
terribly  horsey  in  America,  but  nobody 
accuses  Lord  Rosebery  of  being  a  fool. 

"  William  Faversham  made  easily  the  hit 
of  the  evening,  the  largest  number  of  recalls 
after  the  second  act  being  intended  wholly 
for  him.  In  the  first  act  his  lack  of  smart 
comedy  manner  was  noticeable,  and  his  ina- 
bility to  stand  still  or  keep  his  face  from 
working  violently,  but  in  the  more  active 
requirements  of  the  second  act  he  was  admi- 
rable, and  deserved  all  the  applause  he  got. 
In  the  third  act  his  seriousness  came  in  prop- 
erly. He  is  the  best  actor  in  the  cast,  and 
he  ought  to  be  able  to  learn  a  great  deal 
about  the  smart  comedy  manner  in  the  next 
few  weeks.  A  good  beginning  would  be  to 
drop  twenty  or  thirty  of  his  '  Eh  !  What  ? ' 
exclamations  and  turns  of  the  face  to  the 
audience,  and  practise  on  a  half  blase* 
immobility." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

JOHN    B.    MASON. 

JOHN  B.  MASON,  for  many  years  the  lead- 
ing man  of  the  Boston  Museum  stock  com- 
pany, and  one  of  the  last  year's  successes  in 
"The  Christian,"  is  an  actor  of  magnetic 
personality  and  more  than  ordinary  art.  He 
is  versatile  to  an  unusual  degree,  and  time 
and  time  again  has  demonstrated  his  ability 
to  play  acceptably  romantic  parts,  high  grade 
comedy  characters,  in  both  classic  and  mod- 
ern dramas,  farcical  and  even  light  opera 
r61es.  He  is  at  his  best,  perhaps,  in  com- 
edy, where  his  fine  stage  presence,  finesse 
in  acting,  and  clear-cut  distinction  make  him 
a  figure  both  attractive  and  satisfying.  To 
the  romantic  drama  he  brings  grace,  dash, 
no 


JOHN    B.    MASON 
In  «  Shenandoah." 


John  B.  Mason.  1 1 1 

and  masculine  charm,  and  his  inherent  sin- 
cerity and  complete  mastery  of  technique  lend 
conviction  and  force  to  the  wildest  melo- 
drama. In  farce  he  shows  deftness  and 
lightness  of  touch,  combined  with  the  snap 
and  "go"  that  are  so  essential  to  that  vari- 
ety of  entertainment.  He  has  a  sweet-toned 
baritone  voice  of  considerable  range,  though 
not  of  great  power,  which  enables  him  to 
appear  to  advantage  in  light  opera. 

Mr.  Mason  makes  an  ideal  leading  man, 
as  his  long  service  at  the  Boston  Museum 
plainly  shows.  He  appeared  at  that  house, 
not  only  in  many  modern  dramas,  but  also  in 
the  revivals  of  the  old  comedies  that  were  for 
a  number  of  seasons  an  annual  event.  At 
the  Museum,  Charles  Surface,  Harry  Don- 
aton,  Pomander,  Rover  Littleton  Coke,  Daz- 
zle, Dick  Dowlas,  Captain  Absolute,  Young 
Marlow,  Frederick  Bramble,  and  Bronzely 
were  some  of  the  famous  characters  that 
he  impersonated  with  really  marvellous  skill 


112  Famous  Actors. 

when  the  mood  was  on  him.  Unfortunately, 
he  had  in  those  days  a  not  undeserved  repu- 
tation for  occasional  lapses  into  carelessness 
and  indifference. 

"Jack"  Mason  was  born  in  Orange,  N.  J., 
in  July,  1857,  but  nevertheless  to  all  practi- 
cal purposes  he  is  a  native  Bostonian.  His 
parents  were  Daniel  and  Susan  W.  Belcher 
Mason,  while  his  grandfather  was  Lowell 
Mason,  the  eminent  hymnologist.  His  the- 
atrical career  did  not  begin  until  after  he  had 
received  a  thorough  education  in  Germany, 
France,  and  Switzerland,  though  he  was 
familiar  with  the  playhouse  even  as  a  child. 
The  first  play  he  ever  saw  was  "  Rosedale," 
with  Lester  Wallack  as  Eliot  Grey.  Mason 
was  only  two  years  old  at  that  time,  but  he 
remembered  distinctly  the  admiration  that 
he  felt  for  Grey  when  he  knocked  down  the 
villain  in  the  first  act. 

Mr.  Mason  was  taken  to  Germany  in  1866 
by  his  mother,  who  placed  him  in  a  boarding- 


John  B.  Mason.  1 1 3 

school  in  Frankfort.  Later  he  joined  his 
father  at  the  Paris  Exposition.  During  the 
summer  of  1871  he  saw  the  "Passion  Play/' 
which  was  given  at  Oberammergau  that  year, 
because  in  1870  Joseph  Maier,  the  imper- 
sonator of  the  Christ,  was  drafted  for  service 
during  the  Franco-Prussian  War.  After  re- 
turning to  this  country  Mr.  Mason  entered 
Columbia  College  in  1876,  but  soon  left  that 
institution  to  go  on  the  stage,  making  his 
professional  debut  at  the  Walnut  Street 
Theatre,  Philadelphia. 

Mr.  Mason's  first  appearance  at  the  Bos- 
ton Museum  was  on  August  25,  1879,  when 
the  Museum  began  its  thirty-seventh  regular 
season  with  a  single  night's  performance  of 
"The  School  for  Scandal."  In  the  cast 
were  the  long-time  favourites,  William  War- 
ren, Charles  Barron,  Mrs.  Vincent,  and 
Annie  Clarke.  It  was  the  same  year  that 
William  Seymour,  May  Davenport,  and  Mary 
Shaw  joined  the  company,  but  their  stay  at 


1 14  Famous  Actors. 

the  old  house  was  comparatively  brief.  Mr. 
Mason,  however,  —  with  the  exception  of  two 
seasons,  one  spent  as  leading  juvenile  in  the 
Union  Square  Theatre  Company  of  New 
York,  and  the  other  in  support  of  Nat 
Goodwin  on  the  road,  —  remained  in  Boston 
until  1890.  While  Charles  Barron  was  lead- 
ing man,  Mr.  Mason  played  the  juveniles. 
As  the  seasons  passed,  he  was  given  more 
important  characters,  in  which  he  acquitted 
himself  well  —  when  he  chose.  He  became 
leading  man  after  Mr.  Barren's  retirement, 
assuming  in  August,  1888,  the  part  of  Cap- 
tain Vere  in  "Bells  of  Haslemere."  Lieut. 
Kerchival  West  in  Bronson  Howard's 
"  Shenandoah "  followed.  Others  of  his 
roles  were  Horace  Bream  in  "  Sweet  Lav- 
ender," Eliot  Grey  in  "  Rosedale,"  Charles 
Surface  in  "School  for  Scandal,"  Freddy 
in  "The  Guv'nor,"  Joseph  Andrews  in 
"Joseph's  Sweetheart,"  Bob  Brierly  in  "A 
Ticket-of-Leave  Man,"  Talbot  Champreys 


John  B.  Mason.  1 1 5 

in  "Our  Boys,"  Lord  Travers  in  "  Hazel 
Kirke,"  Capt.  Dudley  Smooth  in  "Money," 
and  Jack  Dudley  in  "  Hands  Across  the 
Sea." 

After  Mr.  Mason's  sudden  departure  from 
the  Museum,  in  October,  1890,  and  his  mar- 
riage to  Marion  Manola,  the  light  opera 
soprano,  he  was  next  heard  of  professionally 
at  the  St.  James  Theatre,  London,  in  Febru- 
ary, 1891,  in  support  of  George  Alexander 
in  "The  Idler."  He  made  a  remarkable 
success  as  Simeon  Strong,  but  this  en- 
gagement terminated  as  abruptly  as  did  his 
connection  with  the  Boston  Museum.  Com- 
menting on  his  work  in  "The  Idler,"  Clement 
Scott  said : 

"  Mr.  John  Mason  leaped  at  once  into  the 
artistic  confidence  of  a  highly  critical  audi- 
ence. .  .  .  The  play  and  the  author  owe 
everything  to  Mr.  George  Alexander  and 
the  new  American  comer,  Mr.  John  Mason, 
who  reminds  us  not  a  little  of  that  ad- 


u6  Famous  Actors. 

mirable  American  comedian,  Mr.  Charles 
Thorn  e." 

Mr.  Watson  said  in  the  Standard:  "A 
most  favourable  impression  was  made  by  a 
new  actor,  Mr.  John  Mason,  an  American, 
who  makes  his  first  appearance  in  London, 
and  plays  a  character  which  has  something 
almost  of  tragedy,  and  an  element  of  comedy 
as  well,  with  excellent  taste  and  judgment." 

When  Mr.  Mason  abandoned  "The  Idler," 
he  also  abandoned  his  luck.  With  his  wife 
he  attempted  a  starring  tour  in  William 
Young's  "If  I  Were  You,"  but  the  play 
was  not  successful.  "  Friend  Fritz,"  which 
followed,  was  an  artistic  production,  but  it 
failed  to  be  profitable.  The  Gilbert  and 
Sullivan  operas  were  tried,  but  they,  too, 
failed  to  win  patronage.  So  matters  drifted 
from  bad  to  worse,  until  finally  Mason  was 
lost  to  public  view. 

When  "The  Christian"  was  brought  out 
in  the  fall  of  1898,  Mr.  Mason  immediately 


John  B.  Mason.  117 

attracted  attention  by  his  impersonation  of 
Horatio  Drake,  the  wealthy  young  man 
of  the  world  who  wanted  to  marry  Glory 
Quayle.  The  character  was  by  no  means 
a  showy  one,  —  quite  the  contrary,  in  fact, 
—  and  it  was  far  from  being  a  "fat"  part, 
like  John  Storm.  Drake  was  always  getting 
just  a  little  the  worst  of  it,  either  from  Storm 
or  from  Lord  Robert  Ure,  and,  in  the  end, 
he  also  lost  the  girl,  whom,  by  all  laws  of 
reason  and  logic,  he  should  have  married. 
All  that  was  left  him  was  the  thankless 
position  of  extending  his  blessing  to  a  couple 
who,  he  must  have  known,  were  ridiculously 
mismated.  Under  the  circumstances,  Mr. 
Mason's  personal  success  was  surprising. 
He  made  himself  felt  in  a  character  that 
commonly  would  have  faded  into  the  back- 
ground and  have  been  forgotten.  In  a 
thoroughly  artistic  fashion,  by  quiet  inten- 
sity and  persuasive  sincerity,  rather  than  by 
any  extraordinary  display  of  dramatic  force, 


1 1 8  Famous  Actors. 

which,  in  a  negative  character  like  Horatio 
Drake,  would  have  been  out  of  place,  Mr. 
Mason  made  apparent  Drake's  individuality 
and  created  a  distinct  impression. 


i 


NAT    C.    GOODWIN 
As  David  Garrick. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

NAT    C.    GOODWIN. 

ALTHOUGH  Nat  C.  Goodwin  has  been  one 
of  the  leading  figures  on  the  American  stage 
almost  from  the  time  that  he  made  his  pro- 
fessional debut  at  the  Howard  Athenaeum  in 
Boston  on  March  5,  1874,  as  the  newsboy 
in  a  farce  by  Joseph  Bradford,  called  "  Law 
in  New  York,"  in  which  Stuart  Robson  was 
launched  as  a  star,  he  is  still  regarded  by 
the  public  as  something  experimental  and 
unclassified.  Mr.  Goodwin  is  generally  ac- 
knowledged to  be,  more  than  any  other  of 
the  younger  actors,  our  representative  come- 
dian ;  but  the  hitch  comes  when  one  tries 
to  tell  just  what  kind  of  a  comedian  he  is. 
The  difficulty  can  be  traced  to  two  distinct 
119 


1 20  Famous  Actors. 

causes,  —  the  first,  that  Mr.  Goodwin  won 
his  early  reputation  as  a  burlesquer ;  the 
second,  that  he  refuses  to  remain  in  the  light 
comedy  field,  where  his  natural  gifts  and  his 
theatrical  training  both  persist  in  keeping 
him.  Mr.  Goodwin  hankers  for  pathos  as 
a  thirsty  man  hankers  for  water,  and  to  all 
apparent  purposes  this  born  light  comedian 
cannot  be  happy  except  amid  tears  wrung 
from  the  eyes  of  spectators  that  protest 
while  they  weep. 

It  has  been  customary  to  praise  —  without 
thought,  I  think  —  Mr.  Goodwin's  desire  to 
become  an  emotional  actor.  But  is  it  kind- 
ness to  counsel  him  to  forsake  that  line  of 
artistic  endeavour  in  which  he  is  —  with  the 
exception  of  Charles  Wyndham  —  without 
a  peer  on  the  English-speaking  stage  ?  I 
do  not  doubt  that  Mr.  Goodwin  has  the 
ability  to  win  general  recognition  in  emo- 
tional rdles,  but  will  he  ever  attain  preem- 
inence in  them  ?  Mr.  Goodwin  is  mistaken 


Nat  C.  Goodwin.  121 

if  he  considers  light  comedy  acting  a  mean 
variety  of  art.  It  requires  too  much  per- 
sonality, too  much  deftness  and  subtlety, 
too  much  snap  and  go,  too  much  genuine 
humour,  to  be  thought  a  common  and  vain 
thing.  Moreover,  the  notion  that  light 
comedy  is  of  necessity  purely  artificial,  that 
there  can  be  no  depth,  no  humanity,  no 
chance  for  the  display  of  pathetic  powers  in 
it,  is  surely  wrong.  The  dividing  line  between 
humour  and  pathos  is  faint  indeed,  and 
laughter  and  tears  rarely  are  far  separated. 
That  quality  for  which  I  would  have  Mr. 
Goodwin  strive  was  well  illustrated  in  the 
character  of  Silas  Woolcott  in  Brander  Mat- 
thews's  and  George  H.  Jessop's  "A  Gold 
Mine."  Who  can  forget  the  emotion,  so 
beautiful  and  touching,  and  the  sentiment, 
so  true  and  honest,  felt  while  the  actor 
mused  over  the  faded  red  rose  ?  One  does 
not  often  experience  in  the  theatre  sympathy 
such  as  Mr.  Goodwin's  sincerity  aroused  at 


122  Famous  Actors. 

that  moment.  Yet  "  A  Gold  Mine "  was 
far  from  being  a  perfect  medium,  for  it  was 
not  free  from  a  touch  of  caricature  that 
belonged  properly  to  farce. 

Clyde  Fitch's  «  Nathan  Hale,"  which  Mr. 
Goodwin  produced  at  Hooley's  Theatre  in 
Chicago  on  January  31,  1898,  met  last  sea- 
son with  a  success,  due  more  to  the  inter- 
esting theme  of  the  drama  than  to  any  great 
artistic  worth  that  the  play  possessed.  When 
Mr.  Fitch  chose  Nathan  Hale  as  the  hero 
of  his  play,  he  displayed  sure  dramatic 
instinct ;  but  when  he  made  the  play  "  Na- 
than Hale "  he  showed  an  inadequate  ap- 
preciation of  dramatic  art.  What  he  started 
out  to  write  was  a  romantic  comedy  with  the 
American  Revolution  as  a  background,  but 
as  he  proceeded  he  found  history  and  Na- 
than Hale's  self-sacrificing  death  a  fatal 
handicap.  How  Mr.  Fitch  could  ever  have 
conceived  the  idea  of  putting  into  a  comedy 
Nathan  Hale,  who  lives  in  the  memories 


Nat  C.  Goodwin.  123 

of  his  countrymen  as  a  figure  of  sublime 
tragedy,  is  a  mystery ;  but  that  he  did  so 
plan,  the  first  act  and  the  early  part  of  the 
second  act  plainly  testify.  As  the  drama 
developed,  the  tragedy  forced  itself  to  the 
front  in  spite  of  the  author's  efforts  to  down 
it.  The  conclusion  of  Mr.  Fitch's  drama  has 
been  called  strikingly  original.  A  better  de- 
scription would  be,  illogically  inevitable,  — 
inevitable  because  historical  events  made  it 
so,  and  illogical  because  the  playwright  failed 
properly  to  prepare  for  it.  When  the  point 
was  reached  where  the  spectator  under  or- 
dinary circumstances  would  be  ready  for  the 
"happy  ending,"  "Nathan  Hale"  leaped  into 
tragedy  so  far  removed  from  the  spirit  of  the 
preceding  acts  that  the  author  dared  only  to 
sketch  in  pantomime  the  two  final  scenes,  re- 
lying on  competent  actors  to  convey,  and  a 
sympathetic  audience  to  comprehend,  senti- 
ments that  he  realised  would  seem  ridiculous 
should  he  try  to  express  them  in  words.  By 


124  Famous  Actors. 

getting  into  such  a  predicament  Mr.  Fitch 
showed  himself  a  poor  artist ;  by  his  method 
of  extricating  himself  he  showed  that  he 
was  a  skilful  artisan.  However,  if  "  Nathan 
Hale  "  could  not  in  any  sense  be  termed  a 
valuable  work  of  art,  the  subject  certainly 
claimed  for  the  play  serious  consideration. 
Moreover,  Mr.  Fitch's  treatment  of  the  sub- 
ject was  conscientious  and  dignified ;  his 
character-drawing  was  exceptionally  good ; 
his  lines  were  at  all  times  excellent,  and  he 
never  permitted  extravagances  of  speech  or 
action.  It  was  emphatically  a  failure  well 
worth  making,  as  well  as  one  that  finan- 
cially paid  well. 

Nathan  Hale  was  the  most  serious  role 
that  Mr.  Goodwin  ever  undertook,  and  it 
was  a  role  that  required  most  of  all  absolute 
sincerity.  Nathan  Hale,  after  the  catastro- 
phe began  toward  the  end  of  the  second  act, 
really  had  little  to  do  with  the  action  of  the 
play ;  he  was  never  aggressive,  and  he  did 


Nat  C.  Goodwin.  125 

not  struggle  against  fate.  This  passive  atti- 
tude, which  was  lacking  in  impressiveness 
though  not  in  pathos,  was  made  possible 
because  of  the  audience's  sympathy  with 
Nathan  Hale  as  a  historic  rather  than  as 
a  histrionic  character.  This  was  a  curious 
condition  of  affairs,  which  I  do  not  think 
often  has  been  paralleled.  In  the  farcical 
schoolroom  scene  of  the  first  act  Mr.  Good- 
win was,  of  course,  thoroughly  at  home,  but 
he  made  his  best  impression  in  the  second 
act,  which  opened  with  a  continuance  of  the 
farcical  spirit  of  the  first  act,  developed  into 
a  capital  comedy  scene  between  Nathan  Hale 
and  his  sweetheart,  and  ended  with  two  dra- 
matically strong  episodes,  the  volunteering  of 
Nathan  for  spy  service,  and  the  parting  with 
his  betrothed  after  her  vain  attempts  to  dis- 
suade him  from  entering  upon  his  dangerous 
project.  Mr.  Goodwin's  quiet  intensity,  when 
he  announced  at  the  council  of  officers  that 
he  would  undertake  for  his  country  the  de- 


126  Famous  Actors. 

spised  mission  of  a  spy,  was  very  fine  indeed, 
and  his  lofty  firmness  and  manly  gentleness 
during  the  trying  interview  with  the  frantic 
girl  whom  he  loved  so  dearly  lent  unusual 
force  to  the  pathetic  import  of  the  scene. 

Mr.  Goodwin's  work  did  not  change  to  any 
appreciable  extent  my  opinion  of  his  unfitness 
to  act  parts  approaching  tragedy,  but  it  did 
give  me  a  high  opinion  of  his  artistic  sense 
and  his  thorough  technique.  Because  of 
these  two  latter  qualities,  no  one  knew  how 
near  the  ludicrous  the  last  act  of  "  Nathan 
Hale "  came.  That  long  stage  wait,  when 
one  watched  the  light  effects  of  the  sunrise 
in  the  orchard,  and  listened  to  that  obstrep- 
erous bird  whose  shrill  pipings  and  whis- 
tlings I  can  hear  even  now,  brought  about 
a  state  of  extreme  nervous  tension  among 
the  spectators  that  made  the  following  death- 
scene  a  dangerous  experiment.  It  needed 
only  the  slightest  touch  of  insincerity  on 
the  part  of  the  leading  actor  to  make  the 


Nat  C.  Goodwin.  127 

play  end  disastrously.  But  the  play  did  not 
end  disastrously,  and  on  that  account  Mr. 
Goodwin  cannot  be  too  highly  praised.  He 
was  in  a  position  where  his  every  impulse 
must  have  been  to  do  something.  Yet  his 
artistic  salvation  lay  in  the  skill  with  which 
he  did  nothing,  and,  fortunately  for  him 
and  for  Mr.  Fitch's  play,  his  repression  was 
complete. 

Nathaniel  Carr  Goodwin,  Jr.,  was  born  in 
Boston,  on  Temple  Street,  almost  beneath 
the  famous  gilded  dome  of  the  State-house, 
on  July  25,  1857.  His  youthful  days  were 
spent  at  the  Mayhew  Grammar  School,  in 
Boston,  and  at  the  Little  Blue  Academy  in 
Farmington,  Maine.  When  he  finished  his 
schooling,  he  returned  to  Boston  and  went 
to  work  in  the  counting-room  of  Wellington 
Brothers  &  Company,  a  dry  goods  firm  which 
had  a  store  on  Chauncy  Street.  While  in 
school  young  Goodwin  had  shown  a  great 
fondness  for  theatricals,  and  after  he  went 


128  Famous  Actors. 

into  business  his  spare  time  was  given  to 
reading  plays  and  acting  as  supernumerary 
at  the  Boston  Museum  whenever  he  could 
get  a  chance.  It  is  said  that  as  a  boy  he 
stuttered  badly,  but  if  so,  he  early  mastered 
the  defect  in  his  speech.  His  first  appear- 
ance in  Boston  was  made  in  the  old  Paine 
Memorial  Hall,  when,  in  company  with  a 
young  man  named  Slade,  he  gave  an  enter- 
tainment, which  included  his  famous  imita- 
tions of  prominent  actors.  Stuart  Robson 
heard  of  the  success  of  these  imitations,  and 
this  accident  led  to  Goodwin's  first  engage- 
ment as  an  actor.  Previous  to  this,  however, 
Goodwin  had  studied  with  Madame  Mitchell, 
Mrs.  Terrell  in  private  life,  an  actress  for- 
merly well  known  in  New  York,  and  with 
Wyzeman  Marshall,  a  prominent  old-time 
actor. 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  1874  that  Stuart 
Robson,  then  a  member  of  the  Globe  Theatre 
stock  company  of  Boston,  was  engaged  by 


Nat  C.  Goodwin.  129 

John  Stetson,  manager  of  the  Boston  How- 
ard Athenaeum,  to  star  in  "  Law  in  New 
York."  The  rdle  that  Robson  played 
was  that  of  a  jolly  policeman  named  John 
Beat.  Robson  suggested  that  Goodwin  be 
engaged  to  play  the  small  part  of  the  newsboy 
and  incidentally  to  introduce  his  imitations. 
There  immediately  arose  a  dispute  over  the 
salary  of  the  novice.  Robson  thought  that 
$10  a  week  would  be  about  right  for  the 
youngster,  but  economical  John  Stetson  de- 
clared that  half  that  sum  would  be  enough 
for  a  beginner.  So  Nat  Goodwin  became  an 
actor  at  the  modest  salary  of  $5  a  week. 
The  first  night  Goodwin  carried  off  the 
honours.  His  imitations  were  a  novelty  at 
that  time.  The  audience  was  delighted  with 
them,  and  kept  the  newsboy  on  the  stage 
for  half  an  hour. 

This  success  brought  an  engagement  at 
Niblo's  Garden,  New  York,  after  which 
Goodwin  appeared  in  two  variety  sketches, 


1 30  Famous  Actors. 

"  Stage  Struck,"  and  "  Home  from  School," 
both  of  which  he  played  at  the  Howard 
Athenaeum.  His  next  venture  was  with 
Tony  Pastor  in  New  York,  where  he  rap- 
idly gained  a  position  of  first  importance  on 
the  variety  stage.  His  success  with  Tony 
Pastor  led  to  his  engagement,  late  in  1875, 
to  play  Captain  Crosstree  in  the  burlesque 
of  "  Black-Eyed  Susan  "  at  the  Fourteenth 
Street  Theatre,  New  York.  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  an  engagement  at  the  Walnut 
Street  Theatre,  Philadelphia,  where,  in  con- 
junction with  John  Brougham,  he  assumed  his 
first  comedy  part,  Tom  Tape  in  "  Sketches 
in  India."  The  role  of  Stephen  Poppincourt 
in  "  The  Little  Rebel  "  followed.  Minnie 
Palmer'  was  in  the  cast  of  the  latter  play, 
and  later  in  the  season  she  and  Goodwin 
appeared  together  in  Boston  in  the  old 
sketch,  "Stage  Struck." 

When  the  famous    burlesque,   "  Evangel- 
ine,"   was  acted  at  the  Boston  Museum  on 


Nat  C.  Goodwin.  131 

July  10,  1876,  Goodwin  was  the  Captain 
Dietrich  in  a  cast  that  included  William  H. 
Crane  as  Le  Blanc,  and  Harry  E.  Dixey  and 
Richard  Golden  as  the  fore  and  hind  legs 
of  the  frolicsome  heifer.  The  Gabriel  was 
the  beautiful  Eliza  Weathersby,  who  first 
became  known  as  one  of  Lydia  Thompson's 
English  burlesquers,  and  whom  Goodwin 
married  on  June  24,  1877.  She  died  in 
New  York  on  March  23,  1887.  Goodwin 
remained  with  "  Evangeline  "  until  1878,  the 
latter  part  of  the  time  playing  Le  Blanc,  and 
then  with  his  wife  formed  the  Eliza  Weath- 
ersby Froliques,  and  produced  "Hobbies," 
a  burlesque  or  extravaganza  by  B.  E.  Woolf, 
which  gave  Mr.  Goodwin  an  opportunity  to 
ring  in  his  imitations.  "  Hobbies "  was  a 
great  popular  success,  and  lasted  until  Mr. 
Goodwin  again  joined  the  Edward  E.  Rice 
forces  and  appeared  at  the  Boston  Museum 
on  July  4,  1881,  in  "Cinderella  at  School." 
This  was  not  successful,  and  to  finish  out 


132  Famous  Actors. 

the  season  Goodwin  appeared  in  a  round  of 
light  opera  characters,  including  the  Pirate 
Chief  in  "The  Corsair." 

This  practically  ended  the  burlesque 
period  of  Mr.  Goodwin's  career,  for,  with 
the  production  of  "The  Member  for  Slo- 
cum,"  in  the  fall  of  1881,  in  which  he  acted 
Onesimus  Epps,  he  became  identified  with 
farce,  a  relation  which  continued  —  with  the 
exception  of  the  season  of  1882-83,  when, 
in  a  company  that  included  his  wife  and 
Edwin  Thome,  he  appeared  as  Sim  Lazarus 
in  Henry  Pettit's  melodrama,  "The  Black 
Flag,"  and  the  season  of  1884-85,  when  he 
returned  to  burlesque,  presenting  "  Hobbies  " 
and  "  Those  Bells"  a  take-off  on  Henry 
Irving  in  "The  Bells,"  —  until  "A  Gold 
Mine"  was  brought  out  in  1889.  Mr. 
Goodwin's  plays  during  the  intervening 
years  were  "The  Skating  Rink,"  "Little 
Jack  Shepard,"  in  which  Loie  Fuller,  the 
serpentine  dancer,  had  a  small  part,  "  Turned 


Nat  C.  Goodwin.  133 

Up,"  and  "Confusion."  Three  incidental 
events  of  considerable  importance  should 
also  be  noted.  In  May,  1883,  at  the  Cin- 
cinnati Dramatic  Festival,  Mr.  Goodwin 
made  his  first  appearance  in  a  Shakespear- 
ian character,  that  of  the  First  Grave-digger 
in  "  Hamlet."  During  the  Festival  he  also 
played  Modus  in  "The  Hunchback."  His 
second  venture  into  Shakespeare  was  made 
at  Tony  Hart's  benefit  in  New  York  on 
March  22,  1888,  when  he  acted,  with  con- 
siderable success,  too,  Marc  Antony  in 
"Julius  Caesar."  The  third  event,  which 
showed  his  growing  inclination  toward  seri- 
ous roles,  was  the  production  in  1888  of  a 
little  drama,  a  version  of  De  Banville's 
"Gringoire,"  which  he  called  "A  Royal 
Revenge."  This  was  almost  a  tragedy,  and 
Mr.  Goodwin  did  not  succeed  in  making  it 
go  with  the  public. 

The  summer  of  1890  was  spent  in  Eng- 
land, where  Mr.  Goodwin  was  well  received 


134  Famous  Actors. 

in  "A  Gold  Mine"  and  "The  Bookmaker," 
in  which  he  portrayed  a  cockney  character. 
On  his  return  to  this  country  he  produced 
"The  Nominee,"  a  farce,  and  the  cur- 
tain-raiser, "The  Viper  on  the  Hearth." 
These  were  followed  by  "Col.  Tom,"  which 
proved  a  failure,  "Art  and  Nature,"  "A 
Gilded  Fool,"  Augustus  Thomas's  "  In  Miz- 
zoura,"  in  which,  as  Jim  Radburn,  Mr. 
Goodwin  did  some  splendid  work,  "David 
Garrick,"  "Lend  Me  Five  Shillings,"  and 
"Ambition."  The  season  of  1895-96  Mr. 
Goodwin  spent  in  Australia,  where  he  made 
"The  Rivals"  the  feature  of  his  repertory. 
His  latest  productions  in  this  country  have 
been  "  An  American  Citizen,"  "  Nathan 
Hale,"  and  "The  Cowboy  and  the  Lady," 
by  Clyde  Fitch,  which  Mr.  Goodwin  brought 
out  in  Philadelphia  on  March  13,  1899. 

Last  summer  he  again  visited  England, 
presenting  "The  Cowboy  and  the  Lady," 
which  was  coolly  received,  and  "  An  Ameri- 


Nat  C.  Goodwin.  135 

can    Citizen,"   which   proved   a   far   greater 
success. 

On  October  17,  1888,  Mr.  Goodwin  mar- 
ried Mrs.  Nella  Baker  Pease,  who  was  granted 
a  divorce  in  1898.  Shortly  after  Mr.  Good- 
win married  Maxine  Elliott,  who  had  been 
his  leading  lady  for  several  seasons,  and' who 
last  season  was  practically  a  co-star  with 
him. 


CHAPTER   X. 
0  JAMES  O'NEILL. 

IT  is  a  cause  for  general  congratulation 
that  James  O'Neill,  without  doubt  one  of  the 
finest  romantic  actors  in  the  United  States, 
has  finally  succeeded  in  breaking  away  from 
"  Monte  Cristo,"  in  which  he  appeared  almost 
continuously  for  sixteen  years.  Mr.  O'Neill 
tried  for  eight  years  to  drop  the  character  of 
Edmond  Dantes  from  his  repertory,  but  he 
seemed  to  be  unable  to  secure  plays  in  which 
the  public  would  accept  him.  It  was  largely 
his  own  fault  that  he  became  so  thoroughly 
identified  with  Dumas'shero,  though  the  mis- 
take he  made  of  playing  only  one  character 
for  so  many  seasons  was  under  the  circum- 
stances a  very  natural  one.  Charles  R. 
136 


JAMES  O'NEILL 
As  D'Artagnan  in  "  The  Musketeers.' 


*  r*3:^:;- 

*        11 


James  O'Neill.  137 

Thorne,  Jr.,  was  originally  engaged  by  John 
Stetson  to  act  the  part  in  the  revival  of  the 
drama  at  Booth's  Theatre,  New  York,  early 
in  1883,  and  he  appeared  as  Dantes  the  first 
night.  But  the  next  day,  or  the  day  follow- 
ing that,  Mr.  Thorne  died,  and  Mr.  O'Neill 
was  called  upon  to  take  the  rdle.  He  con- 
tinued to  appear  in  "  Monte  Cristo "  under 
Mr.  Stetson's  management  for  two  or  three 
seasons,  and  then  he  bought  the  production 
and  toured  the  country  as  Edmond  Dantes 
until  1891.  By  that  time  the  part  had  be- 
come positively  obnoxious  to  the  actor,  and, 
although  it  still  continued  to  be  a  money 
maker,  he  was  anxious  to  shelve  it.  He 
produced  a  gloomy  melodrama,  "The  Dead 
Heart,"  which  was  brought  out  by  Henry 
Irving  in  London,  but  the  public  would  have 
none  of  it.  Then  he  tried  a  modern  play,  "  The 
Envoy/'  but  that  was  equally  unsuccess- 
ful. «  Fontenelle,"  by  Harrison  Grey  Fiske, 
brought  him  a  little  relief,  and  in  1894  he 


138  Famous  Actors. 

acted  "Virginius,"  "Hamlet,"  and  "Riche- 
lieu," in  San  Francisco,  with  gratifying  suc- 
cess. "  Monte  Cristo,"  however,  continued 
in  demand,  and  he  did  not  rid  himself  en- 
tirely of  the  burden  until  Liebler  &  Com- 
pany secured  his  services  to  play  D'Artagnan 
in  Sidney  Grundy's  "The  Musketeers/' 
which  was  produced  in  Montreal  last  March. 
His  success  in  this  has  apparently  ended  the 
career  of  Edmond  Dantes  as  the  chief  feature 
of  his  repertory. 

The  version  of  "  Monte  Cristo  "  that  Mr. 
O'Neill  used  was  the  same  one  in  which 
Charles  Fechter  used  to  appear.  The  lead- 
ing role  was  exceedingly  difficult,  and  re- 
quired versatility  of  the  widest  range  and 
extraordinary  physical  resources.  "  I  had  to 
re-create  the  character  every  time  I  appeared 
in  it,"  Mr.  O'Neill  once  said.  "If  I  could 
not  feel  the  part  anew  each  time  I  acted  it,  I 
could  not  do  myself  justice.  Perhaps  you 
can  imagine  the  tremendous  mental  effort 


James  O'Neill.  139 

that  was  required  after  I  had  acted  the  char- 
acter so  long  that  I  came  to  hate  the  very 
thought  of  it." 

James  O'Neill  was  born  in  Kilkenny,  Ire- 
land, on  November  15,  1849,  and  came  to 
this  country  when  he  was  five  years  old.  He 
went  to  school  in  Buffalo  and  afterward  in 
Cincinnati.  It  was  his  parents'  desire  that 
he  should  enter  the  church,  but  a  clerical 
profession  did  not  appeal  to  him,  and  when 
he  finished  schooling  he  went  to  work  for  a 
clothing  firm  in  Cincinnati.  A  business  life 
did  not  prove  satisfactory,  so  he  resolved  to 
follow  his  own  inclinations  and  become  an 
actor.  He  made  his  d£but  in  the  old  Na- 
tional Theatre  in  Cincinnati,  in  support  of 
Edwin  Forrest.  "  I  supported  him  by  carry- 
ing a  spear,"  Mr.  O'Neill  remarked.  The 
first  line  that  he  spoke  in  public  was  in  the 
modest  capacity  of  a  wedding  guest.  After 
a  few  months  with  the  Cincinnati  company 
he  joined  a  small  barnstorming  company, 


140  Famous  Actors. 

which  shortly  came  to  grief  in  Quincy,  Il- 
linois, after  the  actors'  trunks  had  fallen  a 
prey  to  exacting  landlords. 

"  I  certainly  thought  that  I  should  have  to 
walk  home,"  said  Mr.  O'Neill.  "  The  man- 
ager left  for  Monmouth,  Illinois,  promising  to 
send  me  the  wherewithal  to  pay  my  board 
bill.  Meanwhile  I  made  the  acquaintance  of 
a  prominent  politician,  and,  being  too  proud 
to  write  home,  I  borrowed  enough  money 
from  him  to  pay  my  landlady  and  purchase 
a  railroad  ticket  to  Monmouth.  While  in 
Monmouth  a  wealthy  old  gentleman,  the  head 
of  a  prosperous  law  firm,  took  a  great  fancy 
to  me.  He  invited  me  to  his  home  to  dinner, 
and  offered  to  adopt  me  if  I  would  agree  to 
give  up  the  stage  and  study  law  in  his  office. 
He  had  no  children  of  his  own,  and  said  if  I 
proved  worthy  he  wished  me  to  take  his  name 
and  become  his  heir.  Well,  you  can  imagine 
that  the  proposition  nearly  knocked  me  off 
my  feet.  However,  he  added  that  he  wanted 


James  O'Neill.  141 

me  to  take  twenty-four  hours  in  which  to 
think  it  over.  The  upshot  was  that  my  love 
of  acting  was  so  great  that  I  declined  the 
proposition.  The  old  gentleman  said  that 
he  did  not  blame  me  for  wishing  to  continue 
in  my  chosen  career.  He  paid  my  fare  to 
Cincinnati,  and  gave  me  enough  money  beside 
to  put  me  on  my  feet  again.  He  died  shortly 
afterward,  but  I  had  the  pleasure  of  returning 
the  money  before  his  death." 

Mr.  O'Neill's  next  engagement  was  as 
"  walking  gentleman  "  at  the  St.  Louis 
Varieties,  and  the  following  season  he 
came  under  Robert  Miles 's  management  in 
Cincinnati,  where  he  remained  until  1869. 
He  then  became  leading  juvenile  at  the 
Holliday  Street  Theatre,  Baltimore,  of 
which  John  T.  Ford  was  manager.  He 
was  leading  man  at  the  Academy  of  Music, 
Cleveland,  when  John  Ellsler  was  manager, 
and  while  there  supported  Edwin  Forrest 
during  his  last  engagement  in  that  city, 


142  Famous  Actors. 

and  he  also   played    Macbeth   to    Charlotte 
Cushman's  Lady  Macbeth. 

Speaking  of  his  experience  in  the  Mc- 
Vicker's  Theatre  company,  Chicago,  where  he 
played  for  two  years,  beginning  in  1871,  mak- 
ing his  first  success  as  Bob  Sackett  in  Bronson 
Howard's  comedy,  "Saratoga,"  Mr.  O'Neill 
said:  "My  relations  with  Charlotte  Cush- 
man  at  McVicker's  were  most  pleasant.  In 
her  support  I  played  the  parts  of  Macbeth, 
Cardinal  Wolsey,  and  Dandie  Dinmont.  She 
was  very  kind  to  me,  especially  in  instruct- 
ing me  in  the  part  of  Macbeth,  and  she 
took  especial  pains  to  teach  me  all  the 
'  business '  of  the  famous  Macready,  who, 
she  said,  was  the  greatest  Macbeth  she  had 
ever  played  with.  She  took  the  trouble  to 
watch  me  in  the  various  scenes,  and  when 
her  engagement  closed  she  requested  my 
services  as  far  as  Buffalo,  a  privilege  which 
was  granted.  The  last  time  I  saw  this  tal- 
ented woman  was  at  the  close  of  the  Buffalo 


James  O  ' Neill.  143 

engagement,  when  I  bade  her  good-bye  with 
the  expression  of  a  hope  that  we  might 
sometime  again  play  together.  She  put  her 
hand  to  her  heart  with  the  old  familiar  ges- 
ture, and  said,  '  I'm  afraid  not ;  but  you  con- 
tinue to  work,  work,  work,  and  you'll  be  all 
right.'  These  were  the  last  words  to  me  of 
as  good  and  great  an  actress  as  the  stage 
has  ever  seen. 

"Then  came  a  season  with  Edwin  Booth. 
We  played  ten  weeks,  during  which  time  I 
alternated  with  him  in  the  parts  of  Othello 
and  lago,  and  Brutus,  Cassius,  and  Anthony 
in  'Julius  Caesar.'  Speaking  of  'Othello,' 
one  of  the  most  trying  moments  of  my  life 
was  when,  after  the  public  had  seen  the 
elder  Salvini  and  Booth  play  the  piece,  I 
was  suddenly  called  upon  to  play  Othello 
to  Booth's  lago.  I  went  on  in  the  part 
with  fear  and  trembling.  The  house  was 
crowded.  In  the  great  scene  of  the  third 
act  I  did  not  copy  Booth  nor  Salvini,  but 


144  Famous  Actors. 

introduced  original  « business,'  and  the  large 
audience  gave  me  three  distinct  rounds  of 
applause.  When  the  curtain  fell  the  stage 
manager  grasped  my  hand  and  said,  '  I  have 
been  on  the  stage  many  years,  and  that  is 
•  the  most  prolonged  round  of  applause  I  have 
ever  heard.'  At  the  end  of  the  play,  as  I 
was  leaving  for  my  dressing-room,  Mr.  Booth 
called,  <  Hold  on,  O'Neill,  there's  a  call,' 
and  he  led  me  before  the  curtain,  saying, 
'O'Neill,  good, — very,  very  good.'  I  shall 
never  forget  these  words,  coming  from  Mr. 
Booth  to  a  youngster,  as  I  was  at  that  time. 
Following  this  engagement  came  one  of  the 
pleasantest  of  my  life.  After  playing  Romeo 
with  that  queen  of  actresses,  Adelaide  Neil- 
son,  I  received  a  letter  from  a  mutual  friend 
in  San  Francisco,  who,  in  an  interview  with 
Miss  Neilson,  asked  whom  she  considered 
the  best  Romeo.  Her  answer  was  :  '  Of  all 
of  the  Romeos  I  have  ever  played  with,  a 
little  Irishman  named  O'Neill,  leading  man 


James  O'Neill  145 

in  Chicago,  was  the  best/  Those  were 
pleasant  days  indeed." 

Leaving  Mr.  McVicker,  Mr.  O'Neill  be- 
came a  member  of  R.  M.  Hooley's  stock 
company,  of  which  William  H.  Crane  was 
the  comedian,  and  Grace  Hawthorne  leading 
lady.  When  Mr.  Hooley  went  to  San  Fran- 
cisco he  took  Mr.  O'Neill  with  him  for  a 
three  months'  engagement,  which  was  ex- 
tended to  a  year.  In  1875  ne  was  engaged 
for  A.  M.  Palmer's  Union  Square  Theatre 
Company  in  New  York,  where  for  two  sea- 
sons he  shared  the  leads  with  Charles 
Thorne,  Jr.,  playing  the  cripple  Pierre  in 
"The  Two  Orphans,"  the  prince  in  "The 
Danicheffs,"  and  Jean  Renard  in  "A  Cele- 
brated Case."  Mr.  O'Neill  then  returned  to 
San  Francisco,  and  was  for  three  years  con- 
nected with  E.  J.  Baldwin's  theatre. 

"  <  The  Passion  Play,'  by  Salmi  Morse,  was 
produced  during  the  third  year  of  my  stay 
in  San  Francisco,"  said  Mr.  O'Neill.  "  Man- 


146  Famous  Actors. 

ager  Maguire  asked  me  to  take  the  part  of 
Christ.  At  first  I  refused,  although,  accord- 
ing to  the  terms  of  my  contract,  I  had  no 
choice  but  to  play  any  part  for  which  I  was 
cast  by  the  management.  When  I  learned, 
however,  that  Salmi  Morse's  play  had  been 
approved  by  Bishop  Allemani  of  the  Catholic 
Church  in  California,  I  consented  to  person- 
ate the  character.  To  me  it  was  not  acting, 
it  was  devotion,  and  I  tried  to  speak  the 
lines  with  all  due  reverence  for  their  sacred 
origin.  After  the  piece  was  taken  off  in 
San  Francisco,  it  was  decided  to  transfer 
the  production  to  New  York.  As  you 
know,  the  press  and  pulpit  of  New  York 
thundered  against  the  performance  of  'The 
Passion  Play,'  in  which  I  was  to  have 
appeared  at  Booth's  Theatre.  Finally  the 
management  yielded  to  popular  sentiment 
and  abandoned  the  production." 

"What  is  your  personal  opinion  of  'The 
Passion  Play  ? '  "  Mr.  O'Neill  was  asked. 


James  O'Ne  ill.  1 4  7 

"  My  personal  opinion  is  that  the  perform- 
ance of  *  The  Passion  Play  '  was  in  the  nature 
of  a  religious  service.  Many  of  those  who 
attended  '  The  Passion  Play '  in  San  Fran- 
cisco declared  that  there  was  nothing  irrev- 
erent or  theatrical  about  the  performance, 
but  that  its  intense  solemnity  throughout 
was  most  impressive.  Young  persons  who 
had  never  received  religious  instruction  thus 
obtained  in  the  three  hours  spent  in  the 
theatre  a  vivid  and  lasting  knowledge  of 
the  life  of  Christ.  To  my  mind  there  was 
nothing  sacrilegious  in  <The  Passion  Play.' 
If  anything,  it  was  in  the  line  of  Biblical 
education." 

William  Seymour,  speaking  of  the  first 
production  of  "  The  Passion  Play "  at  the 
California,  said  that,  when  he  came  unexpect- 
edly upon  Mr.  O'Neill  in  his  make-up,  he  was 
startled  by  the  remarkable  resemblance  to 
the  pictures  of  the  Christ.  He  was  literally 
overawed,  and  .a  joke  which  he  was  about  to 


148  Famous  Actors. 

make  died  on  his  lips.  Even  the  stage 
hands  were  quite  as  much  awed  as  was  Mr. 
Seymour.  It  was  the  most  impressive  sight 
ever  witnessed  behind  the  scenes,  and  could 
not  have  been  much  less  so  to  the  audience, 
for  men  were  seen  actually  to  kneel  during  the 
performance,  so  overcome  were  they  by  the 
beautiful  realism  of  the  scene.  Mr.  O'Neill 
was  arrested  after  the  performance,  and  was 
fined  $50. 

In  1882  Mr.  O'Neill  filled  an  engagement 
in  a  play  called  "  Deacon  Crankett,"  and  then, 
just  before  his  appearance  in  "  Monte  Cristo," 
made  an  unsuccessful  venture  as  a  star  in 
"An  American  King,"  by  Charles  Dazey. 
In  1894  he  made  an  elaborate  production  in 
Boston  of  Eugene  Fellner's  drama,  "  Don 
Carlos  de  Seville,"  which,  however,  proved  a 
failure. 


WILLIAM    H.    CRANE 

As  Falstaff. 


CHAPTER    XL 

WILLIAM    H.    CRANE. 

AFTER  many  years  of  hard  work  in  the 
routine  of  his  profession,  William  H.  Crane 
has  for  a  decade  past  been  one  of  the  most 
popular  entertainers  in  the  United  States. 
He  is  a  character  comedian,  whose  one  char- 
acter is  himself.  His  is  a  whole-souled,  frank, 
and  genial  personality,  a  personality  that  sug- 
gests shrewdness  and  generosity,  keen  good 
sense,  and  tender-hearted  chivalry.  In  a 
word,  he  realises  to  a  degree  the  American 
ideal  of  what  a  man  should  be.  This  ideal 
Mr.  Crane  embodied  to  perfection  in  his 
greatest  character,  Senator  Hannibal  Rivers 
in  "The  Senator."  Hannibal  Rivers  can  no 
more  be  thought  of  apart  from  William  H. 
149 


150  Famous  Actors. 

Crane  than  Rip  Van  Winkle  can  be  con- 
ceived apart  from  Joseph  Jefferson.  No 
actor  except  Crane  —  and  many  have  made 
the  attempt  —  has  ever  made  any  lasting 
impression  in  the  role  of  the  bustling  poli- 
tician, the  best  that  could  be  done  being 
momentarily  to  suggest  Crane.  However,  if 
Jefferson  and  Crane  agree  in  one  particular, 
they  differ  radically  in  another.  While  one 
can  imagine  only  the  Rip  Van  Winkle  that 
Jefferson  created,  one  does  get  a  distinct 
impression  that  Rip  is  an  artistic  and  imag- 
inary creation.  This  is  not  the  case  with 
Crane  and  Senator  Rivers ;  the  man  and  the 
character  are  so  blended  that  one  must  be- 
lieve that  Senator  Rivers  is  nothing  more 
nor  less  than  William  H.  Crane,  as  William 
H.  Crane  would  be  if  he  were  a  Senator 
instead  of  an  actor. 

Although  Mr.  Crane's  versatility  and  his 
talent  for  impersonation  are  limited,  his 
comedy  powers,  within  the  limitations  that 


William  H.  Crane.  1 5  I 

nature  has  fixed  for  him,  are  exceptionally 
authoritative.  His  humour,  especially,  is 
broad,  unctuous,  and  perfectly  understand- 
able. He  laughs,  and  the  world  laughs  with 
him,  and  there  is  neither  bite  nor  sting  to 
the  fun  that  he  invokes.  His  command  of 
pathos  is  not  so  sure,  and  he  is  not  always 
successful  in  scenes  that  require  sustained 
emotion.  If,  however,  the  pathos  be  but 
passing,  and  the  sentiment  suggested  a 
shadow  rather  than  a  reality,  Mr.  Crane 
often  moves  his  audiences  surprisingly.  This 
was  notably  true  in  "The  Senator,"  the 
action  of  which,  sometimes  during  its  most 
farcical  moments,  would  occasionally  reveal 
a  flash  of  sober  truth  that  rarely  failed  to 
produce  a  discernible  effect  on  the  spectator. 
William  H.  Crane  was  born  in  Leicester, 
Massachusetts,  on  April  30,  1845.  His  fa- 
ther moved  to  Boston  soon  after,  however, 
and  became  a  well-known  business  man  in  the 
South  End.  Mr.  Crane,  therefore,  has  always 


152  Famous  Actors. 

considered  himself  a  Boston  boy.  He  was 
graduated  from  the  old  Brimmer  School  when 
he  was  about  fifteen  years  old,  and  his  the- 
atrical experience  began,  after  a  few  years 
spent  as  an  amateur  entertainer,  when  he  was 
twenty  years  old,  as  a  member  of  Mrs.  Harriet 
Holman's  children's  troupe,  which  toured  the 
country  giving  one-act  operas,  burlesques,  and 
pantomimes.  Mr.  Crane  made  his  profes- 
sional d6but  in  Mechanics'  Hall,  Utica,  New 
York,  on  July  13,  1865,  as  the  notary  in  an 
English  version  of  Donizetti's  opera,  "The 
Daughter  of  the  Regiment."  His  salary  was 
not  large,  —  I  am  not  sure  that  he  got  any- 
thing at  all,  —  but  he  had  a  bass  voice  that 
was  much  appreciated  by  his  associates. 

"  I  remember  the  first  time  I  saw  my  name 
on  the  bills,"  said  Mr.  Crane,  "and  the  thrill 
of  conscious  pride  with  which  I  surveyed  the 
announcement  of  the  forthcoming  appearance 
of  '  the  new  basso  profundo,  Master  William,' 
to  which  A.  L.  Parkes,  then  our  manager,  had 


William  H.  Crane.  153 

added,  '  with  a  voice  singularly  grand  and  ef- 
fective.—  New  York  Herald.1  I  had  never 
before  been  in  New  York,  but  I  used  to  stand 
for  half  an  hour  in  front  of  the  bill-boards 
and  look  at  the  name,  '  Master  William,'  and 
wonder  if  the  passers-by  knew  that  I  was 
the  gifted  being  of  whom  the  New  York 
Herald  had  said  'with  a  voice  singularly 
grand  and  effective.'  Nothing  could  equal  my 
pride  and  sense  of  importance  for  a  time, 
though  not  long  after  that  the  basso  profundo 
with  the  voice  assisted  the  leading  baritone  in 
delivering  handbills  of  the  evening's  perform- 
ance in  more  than  one  city  which  was  not  so 
large  then  as  it  is  now. 

"  There  was  hard  work  in  the  theatre  dur- 
ing those  days.  Compare  this  record  of  a 
week  with  that  of  the  modern  actor's  season. 
It  is  taken  haphazard  from  my  diary  when 
playing  with  the  Holmans.  Monday  —  '  The 
Streets  of  New  York/  with  myself  as  Badger, 
and  a  farce.  Tuesday  —  '  II  Trovatore,'  in 


154  Famous  Actors. 

which  I  played  Count  di  Luna,  and  'The 
Limerick  Boy'  with  myself  as  Paddy  Miles. 
Wednesday  —  '  Rosedale/  I  playing  Miles 
McKenna,  and  a  farce.  Thursday  —  ' Faust/ 
in  which  I  played  '  Mephistopheles,  and  in 
which  Julia  Holman,  '  by  request,'  introduced 
into  the  fair  scene  the  then  popular  song, 
'Tassels  on  Her  Boots.'  Friday  —  'Kate 
Kearney,'  an  Irish  drama,  and  '  La  Sonnam- 
bula, '  and  Saturday  an  opera,  a  farce,  and  a 
pantomime. 

"  I  also  have  a  notice  of  an  evening's  per- 
formance in  Toronto,  which  began  with  the 
farce  of  '  The  Dead  Shot,'  continued  with  a 
performance  on  the  '  musical  goblets,'  went 
on  with  the  burlesque  extravaganza  of  'The 
Invisible  Prince,'  incorporated  a  solo  by  my- 
self, which  I  regret  to  say  was  encored,  and 
ended  with  'The  Limerick  Boy.' 

"Another  bill  recounts  that  on  one  occa- 
sion, at  Pike's  Opera  House,  in  Cincinnati, 
I  played  in  one  evening  Doctor  Dulcamara 


William  H.  Crane.  155 

in  '  L'Elisir  d' Amore  ; '  Handy  Andy,  with 
songs,  Irish  jigs,  and  other  playful  trim- 
mings; followed  it  by  the  then  popular 
minstrel  song  of  '  Sally  Come  Up/  with  a 
dance  thrown  in,  and  finished  by  acting  the 
clown  in  the  closing  pantomime.  Not  a  bad 
evening's  work  for  a  rising  young  comedian, 
was  it  ? " 

After  leaving  the  Holmans,  Mr.  Crane 
became  connected  with  the  Alice  Gates 
Opera  Company,  with  which  he  remained 
four  years.  He  appeared  in  "  Fra  Diavolo," 
"The  Flower  Girl  of  Paris,"  and  many  other 
light  operas.  He  was  also  the  original  Le 
Blanc  in  the  Gates  Opera  Company's  pro- 
duction of  "  Evangeline,"  at  Niblo's  Garden, 
New  York,  in  1873.  In  the  fall  of  1874 
Mr.  Crane's  comic  opera  days  came  to  an 
end,  and  he  joined  Hooley's  Stock  Company 
in  Chicago,  where  he  was  associated  with 
James  O'Neill,  Nellie  McHenery,  Nate  Salis- 
bury, and  others.  Hartley  Campbell  was  the 


156  Famous  Actors. 

dramatist  of  the  company,  which,  in  addition 
to  producing  Campbell's  plays,  presented  all 
the  New  York  successes.  "  I  remember," 
Mr.  Crane  remarked,  "that  I  acted  five  law- 
yers in  succession  in  as  many  different 
plays."  While  at  Hooley's  Mr.  Crane  ap- 
peared in  "Married  Life,"  "The  Rough 
Diamond,"  as  Hector  Placide  in  "  Led 
Astray,"  Meddle  in  "  London  Assurance," 
Templeton  Jitt  in  "  Divorce,"  Mr.  Crux  in 
"School,"  Aminadab  Sleek  in  "The  Serious 
Family,"  and  Tom  Tack  in  "Time  Tries 
All."  Mr.  Crane  went  to  San  Francisco 
with  the  Hooley  company,  and  later  became 
connected  with  the  California  Theatre,  of 
which  John  McCullough  was  proprietor, 
and  Barton  Hill,  manager.  In  the  com- 
pany were  Thomas  W.  Keene  and  W.  A. 
Mestayer.  Mr.  Crane's  greatest  success  on 
the  Pacific  Coast  was  in  "Ultimo,"  Bartley 
Campbell's  adaptation  from  the  German.  In 
this  play  Ella  Kraighne,  who  had  but  re- 


William  H.  Crane.  157 

cently  made  her  de"but  at  the  California 
Theatre  as  Sister  Genevieve  in  "The  Two 
Orphans,"  also  appeared,  and  a  short  time 
after  she  was  married  to  Mr.  Crane. 

The  comedian's  popularity  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  was  something  to  marvel  at,  and  the 
estimation  in  which  he  was  held  found  ex- 
pression in  January,  1876,  just  before  Mr. 
Crane  joined  Henry  E.  Abbey's  Park  Thea- 
tre Company,  in  New  York,  at  a  benefit  given 
in  the  Metropolitan  Theatre  in  Sacramento, 
which  was  attended  by  the  Governor  and 
State  officials  and  many  members  of  the 
Legislature.  Mr.  Crane's  first  appearance 
in  New  York  was  as  Dick  Swivel  ler  to 
Lotta's  Little  Nell.  In  January,  1877,  he 
made  his  great  hit  in  Leonard  Grover's  "  Our 
Boarding  House,"  in  which  he  appeared  as 
Col.  M.  T.  Elevator.  Stuart  Robson  was 
the  Professor  Gillipod,  and  this  was  the  first 
time  that  the  two  comedians  acted  together. 

"  Every  one   knows   that    Robson  and    I 


158  Famous  Actors. 

first  came  together  in  'Our  Boarding 
House,' "  said  Mr.  Crane,  "  but  every  one 
doesn't  know  that  we  nearly  came  together 
with  a  crash.  Grover,  who,  like  most  Ameri- 
can dramatists  of  that  day,  was  in  a  condition 
of  impecuniosity,  had  produced  his  play  with 
some  measure  of  success  in  San  Francisco. 
He  came  to  New  York  and  read  it  to  A.  M. 
Palmer,  who  was  then  managing  the  Union 
Square  Theatre.  Palmer  liked  it  and  made 
Grover  an  advance  on  the  manuscript,  —  the 
advance  giving  the  right  to  control  the  piece 
for  a  certain  time. 

"Palmer  was  not  in  a  hurry  to  do  the 
play,  and  one  day  T.  H.  French,  the  pub- 
lisher, walked  into  Palmer's  office  and  saw 
the  manuscript  lying  on  the  table.  '  Hallo ! ' 
said  he,  'what  do  you  think  of  my  play?' 
'Your  play!'  returned  Palmer;  'it's  my 
play.  I  made  Grover  an  advance  on  it,  and 
here's  his  acknowledgment.'  'And  I  made 
Grover  an  advance  on  my  copy,'  said  French, 


William  H.  Crane.  159 

'  and  his  receipt  is  at  my  office,  and  I  think  it 
antedates  yours.'  Well,  that  was  a  nice  state 
of  affairs.  There  was  no  knowing  how  many 
more  managers  might  turn  up  with  interests 
in  the  much -owned  play ;  so  Palmer  and 
French  decided  to  pool  their  issues  and 
produce  the  farce  as  soon  as  possible. 
French  had  already  entered  into  negotia- 
tions with  Abbey,  who  then  had  the  Park 
Theatre,  and  the  three  decided  to  do  the 
piece  in  joint  account. 

"At  that  time  I  was  in  Boston,  playing 
Le  Blanc  in  <  Evangeline.'  Abbey  engaged 
me  to  play  Professor  Gillipod.  I  was  in  a 
high  feather.  But,  as  luck  would  have  it, 
Robson,  who  had  long  been  with  Palmer, 
and  had  only  left  him  to  go  starring,  re- 
turned to  New  York.  Palmer  didn't  know 
of  Abbey's  having  engaged  me,  and  he  gave 
Robson  the  same  part.  The  first  thing  I 
heard  about  it  was  a  telegram  from  Abbey, 
which  read  something  like  this :  '  Think  part 


160  Famous  Actors. 

of  Elevator  will  suit  you  better.  Will  give 
you  $15  weekly  more.  Answer.'  Now  I 
had  read  that  Elevator  had  been  played  by 
old  men,  and  I  didn't  want  to  act  an  old 
man.  I  wired  back  a  refusal.  Then  came 
another  despatch :  *  Impossible  for  you  to 
play  Gillipod.  Will  give  you  $25  for  Ele- 
vator.' 

"  I  went  to  a  lawyer,  and  he  told  me  that 
I  could  demand  Gillipod,  and  if  it  wasn't 
given  me,  all  I  need  do  was  draw  my  salary 
for  as  long  as  the  play  ran  in  New  York. 
But  this  didn't  suit  me.  I  wanted  to  act. 
So  I  made  an  arrangement  with  Abbey  to 
receive  Elevator,  with  the  understanding 
that,  if  I  didn't  like  it,  I  should  give  it  up 
without  prejudice  to  my  claim.  As  I  con- 
sidered Gillipod  the  part  of  the  piece,  you 
can  imagine  I  didn't  look  at  Robson  with 
any  friendly  eye.  After  a  time  I  saw  that 
I  could  make  something  out  of  Elevator,  and 
so  I  informed  Abbey.  But  my  scenes  with 


William  H.  Crane.  161 

Robson  didn't  go.  We  didn't  work  together. 
It  was  the  last  rehearsal  but  one  when  I 
determined  to  end  it.  So  I  went  to  him  and 
said,  '  Robson,  do  you  know  that  I  was  en- 
gaged for  your  part  ? '  '  Well,'  he  said,  '  I 
have  heard  so,  but,  as  you  never  said  any- 
thing to  me  about  it,  I  supposed  you  were 
satisfied.'  <  I'm  not,'  I  replied.  <  If  you  had 
come  to  me  sooner,'  said  Robson,  *  I  would 
have  given  up  the  part,  but  I  can't  in  justice 
to  the  managers  do  that  now.'  I  believed 
him  then,  and  from  what  I  have  known  of 
him  since,  I  am  sure  that  he  meant  it.  So 
we  shook  hands,  and  set  to  work  to  do  what 
we  could  with  our  scenes,  and  the  piece 
made  a  hit. 

"  As  the  play  originally  was  written,  I  had 
scarcely  anything  to  do  in  the  last  act,  so  I 
suggested  to  Grover  a  little  burlesque  love 
scene.  He  consented  and  wrote  me  perhaps 
ten  lines.  That,  however,  was  all  I  wanted. 
It  was  a  chance  to  get  on,  and  once  on,  I 


1 62  Famous  Actors. 

wasn't  coming  off  till  I  got  ready.  I  went 
to  Miss  Harrison,  who  was  playing  Beatrice, 
and  told  her  what  I  was  going  to  do,  and 
asked  her  to  help  me  out.  All  she  had  to 
utter  was  an  occasional  exclamation  of  sur- 
prise. She  very  willingly  agreed,  and  I  ex- 
panded the  scene  on  my  own  lines  until  it 
was  ten  times  as  long  as  Grover  had  written 
it.  The  result  was  that  it  went  with  screams, 
and  I  got  one  of  the  biggest  recalls  I  have 
ever  had.  The  next  morning  there  was  a 
rehearsal.  Grover  said  to  me,  *  Mr.  Crane,  I 
shall  cut  that  love  scene  in  the  last  act.' 
I  didn't  say  any  more  than  'Very  well,  sir, 
cut  it  if  you  want  to,'  but  I  took  care  to  say 
it  pretty  loud.  It  reached  Abbey's  ears. 
1  What's  that?'  he  cried.  'What  are  you 
going  to  cut  ? '  '  Mr.  Grover  wants  to  cut 
my  love  scene  in  the  last  act,'  I  observed. 
<  I'll  be  blessed  if  he  will,'  said  Abbey,  and 
his  blessing  ended  the  matter,  and  the  scene 
remained  as  I  introduced  it." 


William  H.  Crane.  163 

At  the  Park  Theatre  Robson  and  Crane 
also  played  in  Dion  Boucicault's  "  Forbidden 
Fruit/'  and  then  the  two  began  their  career 
as  joint  stars,  first  achieving  remarkable  suc- 
cess in  Joseph  Bradford's  "Our  Bachelors." 
In  the  succeeding  years  they  brought  out 
"Sharps  and  Flats,"  "The  Comedy  of  Er- 
rors," in  which  Mr.  Crane  played  one  of  the 
Dromios,  and  "  The  Merry  Wives  of  Wind- 
sor," in  which  he  acted  Falstaff.  In  the  fall 
of  1887,  at  the  Union  Square  Theatre  in 
New  York,  Bronson  Howard's  "The  Henri- 
etta "  was  produced,  with  Mr.  Crane  as  Nich- 
olas Vanalstyne,  a  character  that  he  made 
peculiarly  his  own.  "The  Henrietta"  was 
the  greatest  hit  Robson  and  Crane  had  ever 
known,  and  the  play  lasted  them  until  1 889, 
when  the  two  decided  to  end  their  partner- 
ship. 

Mr.  Crane's  productions  since  that  time 
are  well  known  to  the  public.  He  has 
always  shown  a  commendable  desire  to 


164  Famous  Actors. 

patronise  home  industries,  and  has  been 
an  encouraging  figure  for  the  native-born 
dramatist  to  contemplate.  His  first  and 
greatest  success  as  an  individual  star  was 
"The  Senator."  Then  came  Jonathan  Sils- 
bee  in  "On  Probation,"  Benjamin  Franklin 
Lawton  in  "The  American  Minister,"  John 
Hackett  in  "Brother  John,"  Buchanan  Bill- 
ings in  "The  Wife's  Father,"  and  "The 
Governor  of  Kentucky,"  by  Franklyn  Fyles. 
The  latter  dramas  were  only  moderately  suc- 
cessful, and  for  a  time  Mr.  Crane  struggled 
with  several  successive  failures.  He  brought 
out  one  after  another,  "A  Virginia  Court- 
ship," by  Eugene  W.  Presbrey,  "  His  Honour 
the  Mayor,"  by  Charles  Henry  Meltzer  and 
A.  E.  Lancaster,  and  "Worth  a  Million," 
also  by  Mr.  Presbrey,  but  none  of  them  fur- 
nished just  the  material  he  desired.  In  New 
York,  on  December  5,  1898,  however,  he 
duplicated  his  old-time  successes  with  "  The 
Head  of  the  Family,"  an  adaptation  by 


William  H.  Crane.  165 

Clyde  Fitch  and  Leo  Dietrichstein,  from 
Adolph  L'Arronge's  German  play,  "Hase- 
man's  Tochter,"  which,  the  New  York  Sun 
went  so  far  as  to  say,  provided  Mr.  Crane 
with  the  best  character  he  had  had  since 
"The  Senator." 


CHAPTER    XII. 

WILTON    LACKAYE. 

WILTON  LACKAYE  was  the  creator  on  the 
stage  of  the  character  of  Svengali,  and  a 
remarkably  forceful  performance  he  made  of 
it.  Of  course,  George  DuMaurier's  concep- 
tion had  in  it  all  the  elements  necessary  to 
make  it  dramatically  powerful.  Even  in  the 
novel,  Svengali  stood  forth  with  a  weirdness 
that  was  almost  startling.  His  devilishness 
seemed  hardly  human,  and  he  was  as  awe-in- 
spiring in  his  unreality  as  the  goblins  and 
gnomes  of  our  childhood.  All  this  was  great 
material  for  the  character  actor ;  all  he  had  to 
do  was  to  take  it  and  mould  and  fashion  it 
into  a  form  that  could  be  presented  on  the 
stage.  Moreover,  he  found  his  make-up  all 
1 66 


Copyright,  1895,  by  B.  J.  Falk,  M.  \. 

WILTON   LACKAYE 
As  Svengali  in  «  Trilby." 


Wilton  Lackaye.  167 

prepared  for  him,  a  make-up  far  more  nearly 
perfect  than  any  he  could  have  evolved 
working  by  himself. 

All  these  things  Mr.  Lackaye  used  to  the 
best  advantage.  His  personal  appearance 
was  a  remarkable  example  of  the  art  of  mak- 
ing up.  He  completely  transformed  himself ; 
his  round,  full  cheeks  became  haggard  and 
cavernous  ;  his  eyes,  which  are  naturally  hu- 
morously kindly,  were  made  wild  and  staring 
and  frightfully  fascinating.  The  spectator 
himself  almost  felt  the  hypnotic  power  used 
on  poor  Trilby. 

There  was  no  doubt  that,  in  the  hands  of 
an  actor  proficient  in  character  studies, 
Svengali  was  a  part  that  to  a  considerable 
extent  won  its  own  way  with  an  audience,  a 
"fat"  part,  the  actors  would  call  it.  Paul 
Potter  made  Svengali  —  the  one  personage 
in  the  book  whose  character  was  forceful  and 
at  the  same  time  complex ;  the  embodiment 
of  a  mystery  that  piqued  the  curiosity ;  a  mar- 


1 68  Famous  Actors. 

vellous  musician,  yet  a  man  whom  one  in- 
stinctively classed  as  a  reprobate  ;  a  being  of 
light  and  shadow,  full  of  violent  contrasts  and 
surprising  oddities  —  the  centre  of  interest  in 
his  drama,  which  was  perfectly  justifiable,  even 
though  it  destroyed  the  spirit  of  DuMaurier's 
novel.  It  is  not  always  recognised  that  novel- 
writing  and  play-writing  are  two  distinct  arts 
that  have  almost  nothing  in  common.  A 
perfect  dramatisation  of  a  novel  is  impossi- 
ble ;  often  it  is  impossible  even  to  tell  in  all 
its  essentials,  by  means  of  a  drama,  the  same 
story  that  is  told  in  the  novel.  If  the  so- 
called  dramatisation  be  a  good  play  that  can 
stand  on  its  own  bottom,  the  dramatiser  has 
done  well.  It  is  of  absolutely  no  importance 
whether  he  has  developed  exactly  the  same 
plot  as  the  novel  from  which  he  derived  his 
inspiration,  whether  he  has  introduced  the 
same  incidents,  or  whether  he  has  used  the 
same  characters.  The  play  "  Trilby  "  in  no 
way  reflected  the  spirit  of  the  book  "Trilby," 


Wilton  Lackaye.  169 

and  the  play  "The  Little  Minister"  had  only 
a  superficial  and  misleading  resemblance  to 
the  novel  "The  Little  Minister."  And  both 
of  these  were  unusually  successful  dramatisa- 
tions. 

Svengali  gave  Mr.  Lackaye  a  wider  repu- 
tation than  he  had  previously  attained,  al- 
though he  was  well  known  as  a  character 
actor  and  portrayer  of  villains  before  he 
acted  the  arch-hypnotist  in  Boston  in  March, 
1895.  His  first  substantial  success  was  as 
Gouroc  in  "  Paul  Kauvar."  During  the  sum- 
mer of  1888  he  played  Demetrius  in  "A 
Midsummer  Night's  Dream  "  at  McVicker's 
Theatre,  Chicago.  That  fall  he  appeared 
with  Rose  Coghlan  in  "Jocelyn,"  acting 
Saviani  so  well  that  it  was  not  thought  advis- 
able to  keep  him  in  the  company  for  any 
length  of  time. 

Mr.  Lackaye's  theatrical  career  began, 
however,  as  a  member  of  Lawrence  Barrett's 
company.  He  was  born  in  Loudoun  County, 


170  Famous  Actors. 

Virginia,  and  was  educated  for  the  priest- 
hood. He  spent  two  years  at  college  in 
Ottawa  and  four  years  at  Georgetown  Uni- 
versity. Then  he  received  the  nomination 
for  the  propaganda  at  Rome. 

"  My  father,"  said  Mr.  Lackaye,  "  came  on 
to  New  York  with  me  to  see  me  off  for 
Havre.  The  steamer  wasn't  to  sail  for  sev- 
eral days,  so  I  had  an  opportunity  to  see 
<  Esmeralda '  at  the  Madison  Square  Theatre. 
That  proved  my  downfall.  After  the  per- 
formance I  informed  my  father  that,  instead 
of  becoming  a  priest,  I  intended  to  go  on  the 
stage.  You  can  imagine  his  consternation. 
He  suggested  that  a  padded  cell  was  more  in 
the  line  for  a  chap  that  could  change  his 
mind  in  regard  to  a  vocation  in  ten  minutes' 
time.  The  upshot  was  that  he  took  me  back 
to  Washington,  where  I  began  to  study  law." 

In  Washington  Mr.  Lackaye  became  presi- 
dent of  an  amateur  dramatic  society  known 
as  the  Lawrence  Barrett  Dramatic  Associa- 


Wilton  Lackaye.  171 

ciation,  and  by  tactful  use  of  his  judicial 
position  he  succeeded  in  getting  an  introduc- 
tion to  Mr.  Barrett,  and  after  that  a  place 
in  his  company.  His  first  part  was  one  of 
Paolo's  friends  in  the  production  of  "  Fran- 
cesca  da  Rimini "  at  the  Star  Theatre,  New 
York,  in  1883,  and  the  best  character  he  had 
with  Mr.  Barrett  was  Salarino  in  "  The  Mer- 
chant of  Venice."  Then  he  acted  for  a  time 
with  a  stock  company  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  and 
after  that  with  the  Carrie  Swain  company. 
Subsequently  he  appeared  in  "  May  blossom." 
The  season  of  1886-87  was  spent  with 
Fanny  Davenport,  with  whom  he  played 
Claudio  in  "Much  Ado  About  Nothing," 
and  also  acted  in  "  Fedora "  and  "  As  You 
Like  It."  Early  in  the  summer  of  1887  Mr. 
Lackaye  attracted  some  attention  in  New 
York  as  Robert  Le  Diable  in  "  Allan  Dare," 
and  still  more  the  following  fall  by  his  play- 
ing of  Leo  in  William  Gillette's  version  of 
"  She,"  produced  at  Niblo's.  Then  followed 


172  Famous  Actors. 

his  successes  in  "  Paul  Kauvar "  and  with 
Rose  Coghlan.  In  the  spring  of  1889  came 
his  amusing  portrayal  of  the  Portuguese, 
Don  Stephano,  in  "Featherbrain,"  with 
Minnie  Maddern.  Haverhill  in  "  Shenan- 
doah"  and  Gilchrist  in  "  Bootle's  Baby" 
followed,  and  then  he  came  under  Augustin 
Daly's  management,  playing  first  De  Noir- 
ville  in  "  Roger  La  Houte,"  with  William 
Terriss  and  Jessie  Millward,  and  O'Donnel 
Don  in  "The  Great  Unknown"  at  Daly's 
Theatre.  After  a  week  in  this  play  Mr. 
Daly  cast  him  for  Oliver  in  "As  You  Like 
It,"  but  Mr.  Lackaye  refused  to  accept  the 
part  and  resigned  from  the  company. 

During  the  following  half-dozen  seasons  Mr. 
Lackaye  took  part  in  many  new  productions, 
appearing  as  Sir  Barton  in  "  My  Jack,"  the 
Russian  in  "  Colonel  Tom,"  Latour  in  "  The 
Dead  Heart,"  Jack  Adams  in  "  Money  Mad," 
Barillas  in  "The  Pembertons,"  Jim  Currie 
in  "The  Canuck,"  in  the  title  role  of  both 


Wilton  Lackaye.  173 

"Dr.  Bill"  and  "Nero,"  Steve  Carson  in 
"The  Power  of  the  Press,"  King  Louis  in 
"Pompadour,"  Perrin  in  "Mr.  Wilkinson's 
Widows,"  and  Jefferson  Stockton  in  "Aris- 
tocracy." 

As  a  member  of  A.  M.  Palmer's  stock 
company  he  acted  in  "  Lady  Windermere's 
Fan,"  "The  Dancing  Girl,"  "Saints  and  Sin- 
ners," "Alabama,"  "Jim  the  Penman,"  "A 
Woman's  Revenge,"  "The  American  Heir- 
ess," "  Price  of  Silence,"  "  The  Transgressor," 
"New  Blood,"  and  "The  New  Woman." 
He  played  the  title  r61e  in  "The  District  At- 
torney "  at  the  American  Theatre.  After  that 
came  the  production  of  "Trilby"  in  Boston. 

Mr.  Lackaye  practically  starred  as  Svengali 
throughout  the  country  under  A.  M.  Palmer's 
management.  Then  he  brought  out  on  his 
own  account  a  play  by  Charles  Klein  called 
"  Dr.  Belgraff,"  which  had  hypnotism  as  a 
theme.  Last  season  he  appeared  in  "  Charles 
O'Malley." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

WILLIAM    GILLETTE. 

IN  considering  William  Gillette  two  dis- 
tinct persons  have  to  be  taken  into  account. 
There  is  Mr.  Gillette,  the  playwright,  the 
author  of  two  such  fine  acting  dramas  as 
"Held  by  the  Enemy"  and  "Secret  Ser- 
vice," and  the  adapter  of  numerous  success- 
ful farces,  such  as  "  The  Private  Secretary," 
"Too  Much  Johnson,"  and  "Because  She 
Loved  Him  So ; "  and  there  is  Mr.  Gillette, 
the  actor,  the  creator  of  serious-minded  Rev. 
Mr.  Spaulding  in  "The  Private  Secretary," 
of  the  cool  and  mendacious  Billings  in  "  Too 
Much  Johnson,"  and  of  the  remarkable  char- 
acter of  the  Union  spy  in  "Secret  Service." 
174 


WILLIAM    GILLETTE 
In  "  Secret  .Service." 


William  Gillette.  175 

It  is  with  Mr.  Gillette,  the  actor,  that  I  shall 
have  to  do  in  this  article. 

The  remarkable  feature  of  Mr.  Gillette's 
work  on  the  stage  is  the  well-nigh  perfect 
realism  that  he  imparts  to  every  character 
which  he  plays,  whether  that  character  be  in 
wildest  farce  or  in  most  thrilling  melodrama. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Spaulding  was  a  farcical  char- 
acter in  every  sense ;  his  seriousness  was 
funny,  his  bashfulness  was  funny,  and  his 
awkwardness  was  funny.  Moreover,  the 
situations  in  which  he  was  placed  were 
always  ridiculous  in  the  extreme.  Yet  Mr. 
Spaulding,  as  played  by  Mr.  Gillette,  was 
very  much  a  human  being,  and,  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  there  was  absolutely  no  appeal 
made,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  one's  sym- 
pathy, one  could  not  help  feeling  just  a  little 
sorry  for  the  unfortunate  fellow. 

Again,  in  Billings  of  "Too  Much  John- 
son," another  farcical  rdle,  the  same  element 
of  genuineness  was  in  evidence.  In  "  Secret 


1 76  Famous  Actors. 

Service,"  this  realism  was,  naturally  enough, 
very  much  more  impressive,  for  "  Secret  Ser- 
vice" was  a  play  of  extraordinary  dramatic 
intensity.  It  was  a  melodrama  whose  effect- 
iveness depended  greatly  on  the  care  with 
which  it  was  acted.  It  did  not  on  the  sur- 
face appear  machine  made,  but  this  was 
because  the  machinery  was  operated  with 
exceptional  subtlety.  It  was  a  play  that 
developed  quickly  and  logically,  and  whose 
action  carried  the  spectator  along  with  a 
rush,  scarcely  giving  him  time  to  think.  I 
do  not  believe  there  was  as  much  dialogue 
in  the  whole  of  "Secret  Service"  as  one 
would  find  in  three  acts  of  the  average  four- 
act  drama,  but  in  place  of  this  dialogue  there 
was  action,  vivid,  interesting,  and  straight  to 
the  point.  Take  the  scene  in  the  telegraph 
office.  Minutes  passed  without  a  word  being 
spoken,  yet  how  closely  every  move  on  the 
stage  was  followed  and  how  the  suspense 
worked  on  one's  nerves  ! 


William  Gillette.  177 

The  success  of  the  play  was  largely  due  to 
Mr.  Gillette's  acting  and  to  his  gift  for 
forming  and  maintaining  an  atmosphere  of 
actuality.  It  was  no  small  feat  to  establish 
sufficient  interest  in  a  spy  to  make  him  the 
hero  of  a  play.  Particularly  difficult  was  it 
to  arouse  this  sympathy,  not  by  an  appeal 
to  patriotic  sentiment,  but  by  the  dramatic 
strength  of  the  character.  Yet  this  was 
what  Mr.  Gillette  did,  as  was  shown  by  the 
full  acceptance  of  the  drama  south  of  the 
Mason  and  Dixon  line  and  in  England.  Sim- 
plicity and  sincerity,  intensity  and  force,  are 
the  qualities  that  have  made  Mr.  Gillette  a 
thoroughly  convincing  actor. 

In  spite  of  his  success  and  facility  in  both 
farcical  and  melodramatic  characters,  Mr. 
Gillette  is  by  no  means  a  versatile  actor. 
He  is  essentially  the  same  in  every  part  in 
which  he  appears,  always  cool,  collected,  and 
unabashed.  In  farce,  by  contrast,  this  sang- 
froid yields  a  wealth  of  fun  ;  in  melodrama  it 


Famous  Actors. 

serves  to  increase  immeasurably  the  power  of 
a  dramatic  situation.  Indeed,  Mr.  Gillette's 
methods  of  expressing  emotion  are  so  much 
his  own,  so  individual,  that  they  may  almost 
be  called  mannerisms.  His  points  he  makes 
quietly,  a  twitching  of  the  fingers,  perhaps, 
or  a  compression  of  the  lips,  or  a  harden- 
ing of  the  muscles  of  the  face.  He  rarely 
gesticulates,  and  his  bodily  movements  often 
seem  purposely  slow  and  deliberate.  His 
composure  is  absolute  and  his  mental  grasp 
of  a  situation  is  complete.  In  a  sense  he  is 
wonderfully  restful ;  but  he  never  fails  to 
make  himself  understood,  and  he  is  never 
ambiguous. 

William  Gillette  came  from  one  of  the 
anti-slavery  families  of  New  England,  and  he 
was  born  in  Connecticut.  He  is  related  to 
Henry  Ward  Beecher  and  to  Charles  Dudley 
Warner.  His  father,  Hon.  Francis  Gillette, 
was  one  of  Connecticut's  representative  men, 
the  leader  of  the  Free  Soil  party  in  that  State, 


William  Gillette.  179 

prominent  as  an  abolitionist  and  social  re- 
former, and  at  one  time  a  member  of  the 
United  States  Senate  and  a  candidate  for 
Governor  of  the  State.  Anti-slavery  views 
were  slow  to  progress  in  Connecticut  at  first, 
but  the  time  came  when  there  was  a  coalition 
with  the  Democrats,  somewhat  similar  to  that 
which  first  sent  Charles  Sumner  to  the  Senate 
from  Massachusetts.  Under  this  Francis 
Gillette  was  chosen  Senator  from  Con- 
necticut to  fill  out  an  unexpired  term.  The 
Whigs  usually  carried  Connecticut  at  that 
period,  but  the  Democrats  occasionally  stole 
a  march  on  them,  and  this  time  the  Free 
Soilers  came  in  for  a  share  of  benefit. 

William  Gillette  once  said  that  his  connec- 
tion with  the  theatre  was  due  to  predestina- 
tion and  insubordination.  At  the  early  age 
of  nine  or  ten  years  he  was  astonishing  his 
family  and  neighbours  in  Hartford  with  a  min- 
iature theatre  fitted  out  with  grooves,  scenery, 
foot  and  border  lights,  the  puppets  for  which 


180  Famous  Actors 

were  worked  from  above  with  black  thread. 
A  year  or  two  later  a  better  theatre  was  con- 
structed, showing  advanced  methods  in  mise- 
en-scene  and  wardrobe.  The  next  step  in  this 
juvenile  theatrical  experiment  was  the  or- 
ganisation in  the  Gillette  attic  —  one  of  the 
old-fashioned  roomy  sort  —  of  a  complete 
high-class  stock  company.  When  this  had 
been  tried  "on  a  dog,"  as  it  were,  at  the  top 
of  the  house,  it  descended  to  the  drawing- 
room,  which  became  an  extemporised  temple 
of  the  drama,  to  the  dubious  edification  of 
the  Gillette  household. 

Mr.  Gillette's  parents  shared,  with  other 
New  Englanders,  the  prejudice  against  "  actor 
folk,"  and  frowned  at  their  son's  disposition 
to  go  on  the  stage.  He  finally  settled  the 
question  by  running  away  from  home.  Mean- 
while he  had  been  graduated  from  the  Hart- 
ford high  school  and  had  studied  to  some 
extent  at  the  University  of  the  City  of  New 
York  and  at  Boston  University.  He  had 


William  Gillette.  181 

given  public  readings  in  a  number  of  towns 
and  villages  in  Connecticut  and  had  met  with 
some  success  in  imitating  famous  actors. 

"What  might  be  called  my  professional 
debut,"  said  Mr.  Gillette,  "  was  made  in  New 
Orleans.  It  was  not  especially  profitable. 
It  came  about  in  this  manner :  When  I  ran 
away  from  home,  I  drifted  to  St.  Louis,  where 
I  met  Ben  DeBar,  who,  on  ascertaining  that 
I  was  willing  to  act  gratuitously  and  supply 
my  own  costumes,  engaged  me  as  leading 
utility  man  for  his  New  Orleans  stock  com- 
pany. Shortly  afterward  I  suggested  the 
advisability  of  paying  me  a  salary,  and 
my  services  were  immediately  dispensed 
with." 

After  this  experience  Mr.  Gillette  re- 
turned to  his  home  in  Hartford,  but  in  the 
fall  of  1875,  through  the  influence  of  Mark 
Twain,  who  was  a  neighbour  of  his  in  Hart- 
ford, he  obtained  an  engagement  at  the 
Globe  Theatre  in  Boston.  On  September 


1 82  Famous  Actors. 

13,  1875,  he  appeared  as  Guzman  in  "Faint 
Heart  Never  Won  Fair  Lady."  In  No- 
vember of  that  year  he  supported  John  T. 
Raymond  at  the  Globe  Theatre  in  "The 
Gilded  Age,"  taking  the  part  of  the  Counsel 
for  the  Defence.  During  the  season  at  the 
Globe  he  appeared  in  such  parts  as  Lord 
Kootoo  in  "  King  Turko,"  Longford  in  "  My 
Precious  Betsy,"  Malcolm  in  "Macbeth," 
Montano  in  "Othello,"  Benvolio  in  "Romeo 
and  Juliet,"  Markham  in  "  Still  Waters  Run 
Deep,"  Master  Wilford  in  "The  Hunch- 
back," Captain  Collins  in  "Around  the 
World  in  Eighty  Days,"  Mr.  Buffler  in 
"  Married  in  Haste,"  Philippe  in  "  La  Tour 
de  Nesle,"  Gamier  in  "  Retribution,"  Ga- 
briel in  "  Guy  Mannering,"  the  Duke  of 
Suffolk  in  "A  Crown  of  Thorns,"  Lord 
Melton  in  "  The  Marble  Heart,"  Rosencranz 
in  "  Hamlet,"  Hortensio  in  "  Katherine  and 
Petruchio,"  Archambent  in  "The  Child  of 
the  Regiment,"  the  Admiral  in  "  Black-Eyed 


William  Gillette.  183 

Susan,"  and  Prince  Florian  in  "  Broken 
Hearts." 

The  last  character  was  his  greatest  suc- 
cess, and  he  undertook  it  in  consequence  of 
the  sudden  illness  of  Harry  Murdock.  Mr. 
Gillette  received  the  manuscript  of  the  part 
at  noontime,  and,  without  a  rehearsal,  went 
on  the  stage  at  night  letter  perfect.  He 
acquitted  himself  so  well  that  he  retained 
possession  of  the  role  during  the  play's  run 
in  Boston. 

After  leaving  the  Globe  Theatre,  Mr.  Gil- 
lette was  for  two  seasons  with  McCauley's 
stock  company  in  Cincinnati  and  Louisville, 
and  subsequently  he  spent  a  season  with  a 
travelling  company.  Then  he  turned  his 
attention  to  play-writing. 

"  My  first  attempts  never  reached  the  foot- 
lights," said  Mr.  Gillette.  "I  was  a  most 
ambitious  and  conscientious  playwright  at 
the  outset  of  my  career.  So  much  so  that 
I  decided  to  study  human  nature  at  its  foun- 


184  Famous  Actors. 

tain  source.  I  accordingly  went  to  Cleve- 
land and  became  an  apprentice  in  a  machine 
shop  in  order  to  study  the  lingo  and  charac- 
teristics of  the  genuine  mechanic.  At  the 
same  time  I  hung  out  a  doctor's  shingle  at 
Marietta,  and  put  in  my  spare  time  as  ped- 
dler in  another  small  town.  As  I  tried  to 
carry  on  these  three  occupations  at  the  same 
time,  you  can  easily  see  that  a  conflict  of 
interests  was  bound  to  follow.  After  coming 
in  contact  with  all  sorts  of  malades  imagi- 
naires  in  Marietta  for  about  a  month,  I 
ascertained  that  it  was  against  the  law  to 
practise  medicine  without  a  diploma.  I  may 
say  in  extenuation  of  my  illegal  practice  that 
I  always  referred  patients  that  were  really 
ill  to  the  local  physicians,  so  that  there  was 
no  harm  done  through  my  medical  masquer- 
ade. My  apprenticeship  in  the  machine  shop 
was  also  of  short  duration,  as  the  foreman 
told  me  point-blank  one  morning  that  he  had 
no  use  for  an  apprentice  who  was  absent 


William  Gillette.  185 

four  days  out  of  six.  I  entered  all  sorts  of 
places  in  the  guise  of  a  peddler,  and  had 
occasion  to  make  mental  memoranda  of  all 
sorts  and  conditions  of  men,  but  I  relin- 
quished the  peddler's  vocation  when  Cleve- 
land wouldn't  have  me  any  longer  as  an 
apprentice,  and  Marietta  made  the  writing 
of  harmless  prescriptions  a  dangerous  pas- 
time." 

The  first  of  Mr.  Gillette's  plays  to  be 
produced  was  "The  Professor,"  which  was 
brought  out  at  the  Madison  Square  Theatre, 
New  York,  on  June  i,  1881.  The  author 
appeared  in  the  title  role,  an  absent-minded 
student.  The  play  proved  a  substantial 
success,  and  had  quite  a  run  at  the  Madison 
Square  and  a  prosperous  tour  on  the  road. 
Mr.  Gillette  next  assisted  Mrs.  Frances 
Hodgson  Burnett  in  the  dramatic  construc- 
tion of  "  Esmeralda,"  and  then  acted  for  a 
season  in  "  Young  Mrs.  Winthrop." 

"In    1884,"    Mr.    Gillette    continued,    "I 


1 86  Famous  Actors. 

produced  at  the  Comedy  Theatre,  New  York, 
an  adaptation  of  Von  Moser's  play,  '  Der 
Bibliothekar,'  under  the  title  of  '  Digby's 
Secretary,'  in  which  I  played  the  part  of  the 
Secretary,  the  Rev.  Job  McCosh.  On  the 
same  night  A.  M.  Palmer  produced  '  The  Pri- 
vate Secretary '  at  the  Madison  Square  The- 
atre. This  was  Hawtrey's  adaptation  of  the 
same  German  play.  Both  versions  were  suc- 
cessful, and  a  lawsuit  was  pending  between 
Mr.  Palmer  and  myself  when  we  wisely 
agreed  upon  a  compromise.  The  best  parts 
of  each  adaptation  were  combined,  and  I 
appeared  for  several  seasons  in  the  title  role 
of  '  The  Private  Secretary  '  at  the  Madison 
Square  and  elsewhere." 

Mr.  Gillette's  next  venture  was  "  Held  by 
the  Enemy,"  which  was  first  produced  in  1886 
at  the  Criterion  Theatre  in  Brooklyn,  where 
it  did  not  attract  a  great  deal  of  attention. 
Later,  when  brought  out  at  the  Madison 
Square  Theatre,  with  Mr.  Gillette  as  Thomas 


William  Gillette.  187 

Bean,  the  war  correspondent,  it  appeared  to 
a  far  better  advantage,  and  it  has  been  run- 
ning off  and  on  in  various  parts  of  the 
country  ever  since.  At  Niblo's  Garden,  in 
1887,  Mr.  Gillette's  dramatisation  of  Rider 
Haggard's  "She"  was  given  a  spectacular 
production.  "  All  the  Comforts  of  Home  " 
and  "Wilkinson's  Widows  "  followed,  in  1890 
and  1891,  and  then  "Ninety  Days"  proved 
a  failure  at  the  Broadway  Theatre  in  New 
York.  "  Too  Much  Johnson  "  was  his  next 
adaptation,  and  this  proved  profitable. 

Mr.  Gillette's  struggle  for  health  in  the 
pine  woods  of  North  Carolina  banished  him 
from  active  participation  in  theatrical  affairs 
for  a  considerable  length  of  time,  and  during 
the  period  he  wrote  his  finest  play,  "  Secret 
Service,"  which  was  produced  at  the  Broad 
Street  Theatre,  Philadelphia,  on  May  15, 
1895,  with  Maurice  Barrymore  as  the  hero. 
In  view  of  the  subsequent  triumph  of 
this  drama,  the  following  criticism,  which 


1 88  Famous  Actors. 

was  written  after  the  first  performance,  is 
amusing : 

"While  the  play  has  intensity  and  many 
ingenious  situations,  it  is  inferior  to  his 
'Held  by  the  Enemy'  in  design,  elabora- 
tion, and  power.  Picturesque  as  Mr.  Barry- 
more  is  as  the  hero,  it  is  clear  that  as 
Chalfoner  he  works  against  the  honest  sen- 
timents of  his  auditors,  for  spying  is  an  ugly 
business  at  the  best.  There  is  a  lack  of 
stage-craft  in  the  development  of  the  action, 
and  the  outside  porch,  to  which  Mr.  Gil- 
lette's characters  continually  retreat  when 
they  get  in  the  way,  is  one  of  the  most  valu- 
able adjuncts  of  the  play.  In  its  present 
condition  the  play  drags  very  unpleasantly, 
but  with  repetitions  it  may  be  expected  that 
the  <  Secret  Service '  will  win  a  position, 
though  not  a  commanding  one." 

Mr.  Gillette's  last  work  was  the  farce, 
"Because  She  Loved  Him  So,"  an  adapta- 
tion from  the  French,  which  was  brought 


William  Gillette.  189 

out  last  season.  It  played  long  engagements 
in  Boston,  New  York,  and  Chicago,  and 
proved  one  of  the  most  delightful  features 
of  the  theatrical  season. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

HENRY    MILLER. 

HENRY  MILLER  was  born  in  London,  Eng- 
land. He  was  taken  to  Toronto,  Canada, 
however,  by  his  parents  when  he  was  very 
young,  and  it  was  in  that  city  that  he  grew 
up.  It  was  there,  also,  that  he  first  became 
imbued  with  a  desire  to  be  an  actor,  an  am- 
bition inspired  by  reading  an  article  on  the 
early  struggle  and  final  success  of  Sir  Henry 
Irving. 

"I  made  up  my  mind,"  said  Mr.  Miller, 
"to  emulate  him,  to  work  earnestly  as  he 
had  worked,  and,  if  possible,  to  gain  some- 
thing of  the  success  that  he  had  even  then 
attained.  At  fifteen  I  became  the  pupil  in 
elocution  of  the  late  C.  W.  Couldock,  and, 
190 


HENRY    MILLER 

In  '«  Liberty  Hall.' 


Henry  Miller.  191 

besides  getting  at  his  hands  four  years  of 
excellent  training  in  the  Shakespearian 
drama,  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  form  an 
affectionate  friendship  with  him  that  endured 
until  the  time  of  his  death." 

Mr.  Miller  made  his  professional  d£but 
just  before  his  nineteenth  birthday,  as  a 
member  of  a  stock  company  in  Toronto. 
His  first  part  was  that  of  the  bleeding  ser- 
geant in  "  Macbeth."  The  season  in  Toronto 
was  not  a  very  successful  one,  and  as  the 
weeks  passed  by  without  the  customary 
pedestrianism  on  the  part  of  the  ghost,  the 
old  members  of  the  company  sought  other 
fields.  So  it  happened  that  before  the  end 
of  his  first  season,  Mr.  Miller  found  himself 
playing  the  leading  juvenile  roles  in  the 
classic  drama. 

In  1878,  Mr.  Miller  became  a  member  of 
Modjeska's  company,  sharing  the  general  util- 
ity r61es  with  Robert  Mantell.  With  Mo- 
djeska  he  was  billed  as  J.  H.  Miller.  One  of 


1 92  Famous  Actors. 

his  best  characters  was  Paris  in  "  Romeo  and 
Juliet."  Two  seasons  with  Adelaide  Neilson 
followed,  during  which  time  he  acted  Peter 
in  "Measure  for  Measure,"  Paris  in  "Romeo 
and  Juliet,"  Arviragus  in  "  Cymbeline,"  and 
Oliver  in  "As  You  Like  It."  He  took  part 
in  Miss  Neilson' s  farewell  performance  in 
New  York,  and  then,  after  a  short  engage- 
ment with  Ada  Cavendish,  he  joined  Au- 
gustin  Daly's  forces,  appearing  first  in 
"Odette,"  when  that  play  was  produced 
at  Daly's  Theatre  on  February  6,  1882. 

"  I  may  say  that  I  gained  my  first  foothold 
in  New  York  while  at  Mr.  Daly's  theatre," 
Mr.  Miller  remarked.  "  I  played  the  leading 
role  in  *  Odette '  at  short  notice,  in  place  of 
H.  M.  Pitt,  who  was  suddenly  taken  ill.  In 
the  cast  on  that  occasion  were  Ada  Rehan, 
James  Lewis,  and  John  Drew." 

From  Daly's  Mr.  Miller  went  to  A.  M. 
Palmer's  Madison  Square  Theatre,  where  he 
made  a  hit  as  Herbert  in  "  Young  Mrs.  Win- 


Henry  Miller.  193 

throp."  After  that  he  was  leading  man  for 
Minnie  Maddern  for  a  time,  and  then  he 
joined  with  Mrs.  Agnes  Booth  Schoeffel 
and  a  number  of  others  in  a  production  of 
Arthur  W.  Pinero's  "The  Squire,"  Mr. 
Miller  acting  Eric  Thorndike.  Ada  Rehan 
and  John  Drew  had  already  appeared  in  the 
drama  in  New  York,  and  the  Agnes  Booth- 
Henry  Miller  production,  which  was  made  at 
the  Park  Theatre,  Boston,  on  September  i, 
1884,  was  the  result  of  a  summer  association 
on  the  Massachusetts  North  Shore  of  several 
members  of  the  cast.  Mrs.  Schoeffel  played 
Kate  Verity  so  remarkably  that  those  who 
saw  her  declare  that  no  one  since  has  ever 
equalled  her  in  the  character.  Mr.  Miller 
was  also  very  successful,  and  when  Daniel 
Frohman  organised  his  Lyceum  Theatre 
Company,  he  engaged  Mr.  Miller  as  leading 
juvenile. 

With    the    Lyceum    Company    he    acted 
Robert  Gray  in  "The  Wife,"  Clement  Hale 


194  Famous  Actors. 

in  "Sweet  Lavender,"  and  Randolph  in  the 
version  of  "Ferreol,"  which  was  known  at 
the  Lyceum  as  "The  Marquise."  He  re- 
mained with  Mr.  Frohman  until  the  produc- 
tion of  "The  Charity  Ball,"  when  he  left 
the  company  because  he  did  not  care  to 
take  the  part  of  Dick,  the  younger  brother 
of  the  clergyman-hero.  The  departure  of 
Mr.  Miller,  by  the  way,  was  the  first  break 
in  the  original  Lyceum  Theatre  Company. 

After  acting  Kerchival  West  in  the  revised 
version  of  Bronson  Howard's  "  Shenandoah," 
Mr.  Miller  was  engaged  by  Charles  Frohman 
as  leading  man  of  the  newly  organised  Em- 
pire Theatre  Company,  and  it  was  while  he 
held  this  position  that  his  splendid  work 
attracted  widespread  attention.  His  parts 
were  of  wide  range.  There  was  his  Frederic 
Lemaitre  in  Clyde  Fitch's  one-act  romance, 
—  a  fdle  which,  however,  was  created  by 
Felix  Morris ;  his  Mr.  Brabazon  in  "  Sowing 
the  Wind,"  an  old  man  part ;  his  Mr.  Owen 


Henry  Miller.  195 

in  "  Liberty  Hall,"  a  juvenile  role  of  exqui- 
site sentiment,  which  Mr.  Miller  portrayed 
to  perfection ;  his  J.  Ffolliet  Treherne  in 
"  Gudgeons,"  a  character  study  and  a  mag- 
nificent impersonation.  He  played  Ru- 
dolph in  "  Bohemia,"  the  ministerial  hero 
of  "  Michael  and  His  Lost  Angel,"  and  the 
star-gazing  David  Remon  of  "The  Masquer- 
aders." 

Mr.  Miller  became  a  star  in  1896,  present- 
ing first  "  Heartsease,"  by  Charles  Klein  and 
J.  I.  C.  Clarke,  a  work  of  considerable  emo- 
tional force  though  of  uneven  merit ;  but  his 
greatest  success,  perhaps,  was  in  Stuart  Ogil- 
vie's  peculiar  drama,  "The  Master,"  which 
was  brought  out  in  New  York  in  February, 
1898.  Writing  of  the  first  performance, 
Franklyn  Fyles  said : 

"  Mr.  Miller  acts  throughout  with  sincerity 
and  fervour.  Nothing  has  ever  done  more 
to  justify  his  claim  to  a  high  position  among 
the  artists  of  our  stage.  He  is  easy,  flexible, 


196  Famous  Actors. 

graceful,  and  free  from  mannerisms  of  speech 
and  gesture.  Unsuited  as  he  is  in  some  par- 
ticulars to  the  r61e,  his  treatment  is  wholly 
commendable.  He  has  to  do  all  manner  of 
heartless  things  with  the  same  indifference 
that  the  queen  in  '  Alice  in  Wonderland ' 
cries,  *  Off  with  his  head  ! '  He  disinherits 
his  son  and  his  daughter  because  the  boy 
wants  to  go  into  the  army  rather  than  into 
business,  and  because  the  girl  refuses  to 
marry  a  debauchee. 

"This  catastrophe  is  developed  precipi- 
tately before  the  audience  has  realised  the 
master's  stern  character,  though  he  has  said 
that  he  cannot  be  made  to  yield  to  anybody 
and  has  told  an  allegory  to  prove  that  quality. 
Mr.  Miller  reads  the  latter  delightfully,  even 
if  with  some  apparent  effort  at  purely  rhetor- 
ical effect.  The  obdurate  man  also  tells  char- 
acteristic stories  to  prove  how  domineering 
and  unyielding  he  is.  But  his  rejection  of 
his  children  is  the  first  exhibition  of  his  tern- 


Henry  Miller.  197 

per  that  the  spectators  see,  and  they  regard 
him  as  a  headstrong  and  disagreeable  old 
party,  with  little  about  him  at  this  time  to 
appeal  to  the  sympathies. 

"  It  is  remarkable  how  sympathy  is  lost 
and  regained  in  '  The  Master '  by  the  charac- 
ter which  Mr.  Miller  assumes.  The  last  trace 
the  audience's  regard  vanishes  when  he  turns 
his  wife  out-of-doors.  But  the  touch  that 
makes  a  play  liked  by  the  people  comes  in 
time  to  make  the  success  of  this  one.  The 
father  is  then  alone,  as  he  well  deserves  to 
be.  Even  the  servants  have  fled  from  his 
temper,  which  has  grown  more  aggressive 
with  gout.  The  wife  arrives,  and  the  first 
tender  note  in  the  old  man's  character  is 
sounded,  and  if  the  audience  titters  when, 
anxious  about  the  birth  of  his  daughter's 
child,  he  asks,  'And  did  she  have  a  hard 
time  ? '  it  is  rather  at  the  homely  phrase 
than  through  any  lack  of  real  emotion  in 
the  situation. 


198  Famous  Actors. 

"The  son,  who  has  won  his  spurs  in  an 
African  campaign,  is  to  return  this  day  and 
with  the  troops  march  by  the  house.  The 
father's  softening  toward  his  son  is  as  cer- 
tain as  the  sympathy  he  shows  for  his 
daughter,  although  it  comes  more  slowly. 
But  it  does  come,  and  possibly  the  master, 
like  the  audience,  gives  way  under  the  thrill 
of  that  old  expedient  with  which  this  new 
author  closes  his  play.  Just  as  in  « Ours,' 
in  many  other  pieces,  and  more  recently 
in  Sothern's  production  of  *  The  Lady  of 
Lyons,'  martial  music  has  its  sure  effect, 
so  does  Mr.  Ogilvie's  use  of  it  accomplish 
his  purpose.  The  father  sees  his  son  in 
the  ranks,  the  music  grows  louder,  and  the 
master  surrenders,  waving  his  handkerchief 
and  cheering  for  the  returning  soldier. 

"Mr.  Ogilvie's  play  takes  a  firm  grip  on 
the  heart  through  these  methods,  conven- 
tional as  they  may  be,  and  it  is  owing  to 
the  last  act  that  his  work  will  become  very 


Henry  Miller.  199 

popular.  Under  its  agreeable  impression 
the  spectators  forget  what  a  disagreeable 
character  the  master  has  been,  and  are 
almost  prepared  to  sympathise  with  him 
when  his  children  return,  —  not  because  he 
deserves  it,  but  because  the  band  plays  so 
movingly  in  the  wings." 

Last  summer,  in  company  with  Edward 
J.  Morgan,  Mr.  Miller  acted  in  San  Fran- 
cisco at  the  head  of  his  own  company,  pre- 
senting all  the  recent  Eastern  successes, 
including  "  The  Liars  "  and  "  Lord  and  Lady 
Algy,"  and  also  winning  much  praise  as 
Hamlet. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

JAMES    K.    HACKETT. 

JAMES  K.  HACKETT  has  by  no  means 
reached  his  full  artistic  growth,  and  there- 
fore an  estimate  of  him  as  an  actor  can  at 
this  time  be  of  little  permanent  value.  One 
might  describe  minutely  and  criticise  pro- 
fusely the  James  K.  Hackett  of  to-day,  only 
to  find  his  labour  and  thought  made  ridicu- 
lous by  the  James  K.  Hackett  of  to-morrow. 
For  Mr.  Hackett  is  still  in  an  active  state 
of  development,  and  he  is,  except  in  a  most 
general  fashion,  unclassified.  We  know  him 
as  an  excellent  leading  man,  as  a  fascinating 
romantic  actor  in  "The  Prisoner  of  Zenda," 
as  more  than  ordinarily  interesting  in  such 


JAMES    K.    HACKETT. 


James  K.  Hackett.  201 

a  poor  drama  as  "Rupert  of  Hentzau,"  and 
finally  as  the  one  featured  player  in  the 
Maude  Adams  production  of  "  Romeo  and 
Juliet,"  whom  all  critics — those  that  wept 
at  the  downfall  of  tradition,  as  well  as  those 
who  hailed  with  joy  the  "new"  Juliet  — 
agreed  was  in  every  way  competent. 

All  that  can  at  present  safely  be  said  of 
Mr.  Hackett  is  that  he  is  a  popular  star, 
young  in  years  and  unquestionably  talented, 
whose  future,  moreover,  is  very  much  in  his 
own  hands.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  a 
young  actor,  full  in  the  lime-light  of  popular 
attention,  is  the  envied  of  the  many,  he  is 
not  always  to  be  congratulated.  A  failure 
means  much  to  him,  and  only  under  ex- 
ceptional circumstances  —  such  as  the  Shake- 
spearian production  previously  referred  to  — 
does  he  dare  to  attempt  any  new  thing. 
Possibly,  as  in  Mr.  Hackett's  case,  he  won 
his  first  great  applause  as  a  romantic  actor, 
and  a  romantic  actor  he  feels  that  he  must 


2O2  Famous  Actors. 

remain  until  the  end  of  the  chapter.  How 
does  he  know  that  he  has  not  the  genius 
to  become  a  really  great  character  delineator, 
and  how,  pray,  is  he  going  to  find  out? 
Surely,  not  by  starring  in  one  new  romantic 
character  a  season,  for  the  rest  of  his  life. 
There  is  no  worse  place  in  the  world  to  de- 
velop a  well-rounded  art  than  at  the  head  of 
one's  own  company. 

Mr.  Hackett,  however,  has  had  two  ad- 
vantages enjoyed  by  few  young  actors.  He 
received  a  college  education  before  he  had 
any  thought  of  going  on  the  stage  profes- 
sionally, and  his  preliminary  training  during 
his  first  years  as  a  player  was  under  the 
most  favourable  circumstances  and  in  the 
finest  theatrical  companies  of  the  country. 
With  the  A.  M.  Palmer,  the  Augustin  Daly, 
and  the  Lyceum  companies  Mr.  Hackett 
played  many  parts,  and  played  them  under 
the  direct  supervision  of  men  who  knew 
how  to  correct  mistakes  and  whose  valuable 


James  K.  Hackett.  203 

advice  was  also  a  command.  This  experi- 
ence developed  in  Mr.  Hackett  versatility, 
ease,  self-confidence,  and  suppleness  of  tech- 
nique. What  he  lacks  is  experience,  —  ex- 
perience on  the  stage  to  give  authority  to 
his  art,  and  experience  off  the  stage  to 
reveal  to  him  life  and  humanity  and  to  de- 
velop sympathy,  without  which  an  actor's 
art  is  lifeless  and  unappealing. 

Mr.  Hackett 's  Mercutio  was  to  many  a 
genuine  surprise.  While  he  did  not  in  the 
least  suggest  the  sixteenth  century  atmos- 
phere, that  is  properly  a  part  of  the  char- 
acter, there  was  so  much  freshness,  vivacity, 
and  life  in  his  impersonation  that  one  could 
almost  forgive  him  for  making  Mercutio  seem 
like  a  masquerading  nineteenth  century  per- 
sonage. It  is  curious  how  the  medieval 
spirit,  or  rather  the  ability  to  depict  the 
medieval  spirit,  has  departed  from  the  stage, 
—  that  power,  found  now  in  but  a  few  of  the 
old  actors,  of  assuming  with  the  old-time 


204  Famous  Actors. 

garments  old-time  thoughts,  old-time  habits, 
and  old-time  mannerisms.  It  is  a  lost  art 
so  far  as  the  young  generation  of  mummers 
is  concerned,  and  the  commonest  of  criti- 
cisms on  a  Shakespearian  performance  of 
to-day  is,  too  modern.  Such  a  fault  was  in 
Mr.  Hackett's  Mercutio.  Otherwise  it  was 
a  clear-cut,  adequate  conception  capably  pre- 
sented. Rollicking,  devil-may-care,  full  of 
jollity,  with  a  beast  of  a  temper,  too,  and  a 
boy's  fondness  for  a  scrap,  this  Mercutio 
died  logically,  with  a  jest  on  his  lips  and  a 
smile  at  the  yawning  grave. 

"  Rupert  of  Hentzau,"  in  which  Mr. 
Hackett  starred  last  season,  was  little  better 
than  a  lightning  change  exhibition.  The 
play  was  written  as  a  sequel  to  "The  Pris- 
oner of  Zenda,"  and  the  star  was  called  upon 
to  depict  the  character  of  the  dissipated 
king,  Rudolph  V.,  and  the  gallant  English- 
man, Rudolph  Rassendyll.  There  was  a 
mighty  duelling  scene,  which  stirred  the 


James  K.  Hackett.  205 

blood  of  those  fond  of  stage  excitement, 
and  there  was  a  death  scene,  which  was 
mechanically  and  pictorially  pathetic.  Mr. 
Hackett  differentiated  the  two  characters 
rather  cleverly,  though  also  very  obviously, 
but  beyond  this  no  especial  demand  was 
made  on  his  histrionic  talent. 

James  K.  Hackett's  father  was  James 
Henry  Hackett,  who  fifty  years  ago  was 
esteemed  one  of  the  most  talented  actors 
on  the  American  stage.  He  was  successful 
in  both  comedy  and  tragic  roles,  but  his 
Falstaff  was  the  presentation  on  which  his 
fame  was  most  firmly  planted.  That  char- 
acter was  familiar  to  and  was  approved  by 
the  entire  English-speaking  stage  of  his  time. 
Young  Hackett  was  born  on  Wolfe,  one  of 
the  Canadian  Thousand  Islands,  on  Septem- 
ber 6,  1869.  Two  years  later,  on  December 
28,  1871,  at  Jamaica,  Long  Island,  the  elder 
Hackett  died,  but  the  boy  had  the  advantage 
of  the  training  of  his  mother,  Mrs.  Clara  C. 


206  Famous  Actors. 

Hackett,  at  one  time  a  popular  actress.  Nat- 
urally enough,  with  such  blood  in  his  veins, 
the  child's  attention  was  early  directed  toward 
the  theatre.  At  the  age  of  seven  he  recited 
Shakespeare's  "  Seven  Ages  "  in  public,  and 
from  that  time  his  leisure  was  devoted  to 
theatricals.  While  in  school  and  at  college 
Mr.  Hackett  was  prominently  identified  with 
the  New  York  amateur  stage.  At  eighteen 
he  acted  Touchstone,  and  at  twenty  he  tried 
Othello.  As  an  amateur  he  played  most  of 
Oliver  Doud  Byron's  roles,  and  one  of  his 
greatest  successes  was  Carraway  Bones,  the 
undertaker  in  "  Turned  Up."  At  college  he 
acquired  considerable  reputation  as  a  bur- 
lesque actor,  and  he  was  not  only  the  first 
male  imitator  of  Carmencita,  but  he  gave 
the  best  of  all  imitations  of  her  terpsichorean 
mannerisms.  It  is  well  to  add  that  Hackett 
was  also  prominent  athletically  and  socially 
while  in  college,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
Alpha  Delta  Phi  Greek  letter  fraternity. 


James  K.  Hackett.  207 

Mr.  Hackett  took  his  Bachelor  of  Arts 
degree  at  the  College  of  the  City  of  New 
York  in  1891,  and  immediately  began  the 
study  of  law.  The  stage  had  too  many 
attractions,  however,  and  on  March  28,  1892, 
at  the  Park  Theatre,  Philadelphia,  he  made 
his  debut  as  a  professional  actor,  a  humble 
member  of  A.  M.  Palmer's  stock  company. 
His  first  part  was  Francois  in  "  The  Broken 
Seal."  In  the  Palmer  company  at  that  time 
were  James  H.  Stoddart,  Frederick  Robin- 
son, Agnes  Booth,  Mrs.  Bowers,  and  Julia 
Arthur.  The  week  following  Mr.  Hackett's 
first  appearance,  Mr.  Stoddart  was  compelled 
to  leave  the  organisation  on  account  of  the 
death  of  his  wife,  and  Mr.  Hackett  was  given 
Mr.  Stoddart's  part  of  Jean  Torqueric,  which 
he  first  acted  in  Brooklyn.  His  success  was 
surprising  when  one  considers  his  short  ex- 
perience. Mr.  Hackett  left  Mr.  Palmer  in  a 
few  weeks  to  become  leading  man  for  Lotta, 
with  whom  he  remained  during  the  spring 


208  Famous  Actors. 

until   illness  compelled  her  permanently  to 
close  her  season. 

The  season  of  1892-93  was  spent  with 
Augustin  Daly's  company,  with  which  the 
young  actor  played  many  r61es  in  the  familiar 
repertory.  When  Mr.  Daly  went  to  London, 
however,  Mr.  Hackett  became  leading  man 
of  Arthur  Rehan's  company,  and  continued 
in  that  capacity  until  the  end  of  the  regular 
season.  During  the  season  of  1893-94  he 
starred  under  the  management  of  D.  A. 
Bonta,  in  a  repertory  that  included  "The 
Arabian  Nights,"  "The  Private  Secretary," 
"Mixed  Pickles,"  and  a  number  of  Charles 
Mathews's  farces.  His  appearance  as  the 
athletic  parson  in  Minnie  Seligman's  pro- 
duction of  "Lady  Gladys"  followed,  and 
then  he  went  to  the  Queen's  Theatre, 
Montreal,  where  as  leading  man  he  acted 
in  "  Heart  and  Hands,"  "  American  Money," 
"Snowball,"  and  "The  Pink  Mask."  His 
next  important  engagement  was  as  the  Count 


James  K.  Hackett.  209 

de  Neippery  in  Kathryn  Kidder's  production 
of  "  Madame  Sans-Gene "  at  the  Broadway 
Theatre,  New  York,  on  January  14,  1895. 
The  following  September  he  was  seen  as 
the  Count  de  Charney  with  Mrs.  James 
Brown  Potter  and  Kyrle  Bellew  in  "The 
Queen's  Necklace." 

Mr.  Hackett's  first  appearance  with  Daniel 
Frohman's  Lyceum  Theatre  Company  was 
in  November,  1895,  as  Morris  Lecalle  in 
"The  Home  Secretary/'  by  R.  C.  Carton. 
He  was  next  cast  for  the  leading  r61e,  in  the 
Lyceum  Theatre  revival,  on  February  10, 
1896,  of  "The  Prisoner  of  Zenda."  That 
was  virtually  his  de"but  as  leading  man  of  the 
company,  for  Herbert  Kelcey,  who  for  many 
years  had  held  that  position,  shortly  after 
the  "  Zenda  "  success,  resigned.  On  Novem- 
ber 23d  following,  Mr.  Hackett  appeared  as 
Bruce  Leslie  in  H.  V.  Esmond's  modern 
comedy,  "  The  Courtship  of  Leonie."  This 
occasion  was  also  the  American  debut  of 


2io  Famous  Actors. 

Mary  Mannering,  whom  Mr.  Hackett  married 
the  following  March.  His  other  rdles  with 
Daniel  Frohman's  company  were  Captain 
Trefuss  in  "The  Late  Mr.  Costello,"  by 
Sidney  Grundy,  the  Prince  of  Wales  in  "  The 
First  Gentleman  of  Europe,"  by  Mrs. 
Frances  Hodgson  Burnett  and  George 
Fleming,  Lord  Gervasse  Carew  in  "The 
Mayflower,"  by  Louis  N.  Parker,  and  Sir 
George  Lamorant  in  "The  Princess  and  the 
Butterfly,"  by  A.  W.  Pinero.  During  the 
run  of  Pinero's  comedy,  which  was  produced 
in  this  country  on  November  23,  1897,  Mr. 
Hackett  was  taken  seriously  ill  with  typhoid 
fever,  and  he  did  not  act  for  two  months. 
Then  he  assumed  the  leading  part  of  Nigil 
Stanyon  in  "The  Tree  of  Knowledge,"  by 
R.  C.  Carton,  succeeding  Edward  J.  Morgan. 
Mr.  Hackett' s  starring  tour  began  in  the  fall 
of  1898  in  "The  Tree  of  Knowledge,"  which 
was  shelved  after  the  production  in  Phil- 
adelphia, on  November  2ist,  of  Anthony 
Hope's  "  Rupert  of  Hentzau." 


HENRY    JEWETT. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

HENRY    JEWETT. 

HENRY  JEWETT  made  a  great  success  in 
Boston  last  season  as  John  Storm  in  "The 
Christian,"  a  part,  however,  which  two  others 
played  before  him.  They,  too,  made  great 
successes,  for  John  Storm  was  a  character 
such  as  actors  like.  Joseph  Haworth  de- 
clared that  it  was  the  best  part  he  ever  had 
played,  and  Mr.  Haworth  was  a  Hamlet 
once  on  a  time,  and  not  a  bad  one,  either. 
What  Mr.  Haworth  meant  to  say  was  that 
he  got  more  applause  in  John  Storm  than 
he  ever  did  in  any  other  r61e.  Storm  was 
what  the  players  call  a  "  fat "  part.  He  was 
bound  to  be  popular  with  the  average 
audience.  He  had  innumerable  bombastic 

211 


212  Famous  Actors. 

speeches,  and  he  was  continually  the  centre 
piece  of  a  thrilling  situation. 

Mr.  Jewett  was  the  only  actor  whom  I 
saw  play  John  Storm,  so  I  cannot  be  accused 
of  comparing  his  work  with  that  of  either 
of  his  predecessors.  He  gave  a  manly,  frank, 
and  perfectly  sincere  interpretation  of  the 
role.  Indeed,  sincerity  was  the  chief  charac- 
teristic of  his  work.  It  is  true  that  he  did 
not  in  the  least,  in  physical  appearance,  sug- 
gest the  ascetic,  for  Mr.  Jewett  is  a  robust 
and  powerful  fellow,  with  the  chest  and 
muscles  of  an  athlete;  but  he  evidently 
understood  the  man,  John  Storm,  and,  most 
important  of  all,  he  appreciated  the  honesty 
of  purpose  that  accompanied  Storm's  fanat- 
icism. Mr.  Jewett's  tremendous  physique 
proved  a  genuine  aid,  especially  in  moments 
of  vehement  passion,  such  as  the  scene  in 
which  he  made  the  attempt  on  Glory's  life 
and  the  scene  which  culminates  in  the  expul- 
sion of  the  mob  from  the  chapel. 


Henry  Je  wett.  213 

There  was  an  element  of  perfect  repose  in 
Mr.  Jewett's  acting  in  "  The  Christian  "  that 
was  hardly  to  be  expected  in  the  represen- 
tation of  a  conception  that  was  so  far  from 
reposeful  as  was  John  Storm.  This  was  due 
to  the  complete  self-control  that  pervaded 
every  scene  in  which  Mr.  Jewett  appeared. 
He  had  himself  thoroughly  in  hand,  and  he 
was  always  absolute  master  of  the  situation. 
There  was  no  ranting,  there  were  no  vain 
heroics,  there  was  no  wasted  energy.  He 
was  quiet,  straightforward,  and  without 
affectation. 

Mr.  Jewett  was  an  actor  of  wide  experi- 
ence and  thorough  training  before  he  became 
known  in  this  country.  He  was  born  in 
Australia,  but  when  he  was  very  young  his 
parents  moved  to  New  Zealand.  He  grew 
into  manhood  in  Dunedin,  the  capitol  of  the 
province  of  Otago.  Although  his  family  had 
at  no  time  been  connected  with  the  theatre, 
Mr.  Jewett  early  showed  a  bent  toward  dra- 


214  Famous  Actors. 

matic  affairs.  When  he  was  only  ten  years 
old  he  won  a  prize  for  declamation,  competed 
for  by  children  from  all  the  schools  in  the 
province,  and  from  that  time  until  he  was 
fifteen  years  old  he  was  in  demand  as  a 
reciter.  He  also  gained  considerable  notice 
by  his  proficiency  in  outdoor  games  and 
sports.  This  fondness  for  outdoor  life  led 
him,  while  still  a  boy,  to  go  to  work  on  a 
ranch  in  New  Zealand,  where  for  a  time 
he  lived  with  the  cowboys  and  shared  their 
hardships. 

On  his  return  to  school,  Mr.  Jewett  again 
entered  -heart  and  soul  into  athletics,  and 
soon  became  one  of  the  most  prominent 
cricket  and  football  players  in  New  Zealand. 
This  reputation  clung  to  him  even  after  he 
became  a  professional  actor,  and  as  long  as 
he  stayed  in  the  province  he  was  in  demand 
by  all  first-class  teams.  Then  he  began  his 
business  life  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder  in  the 
Bank  of  New  Zealand.  While  a  clerk  he 


Henry  Jewett.  2 1 5 

became  interested  in  amateur  theatricals,  and 
in  1879  took  part  in  his  first  play,  acting 
Ralph  Waters,  the  leading  role  in  "  Bitter 
Cold,"  which  was  performed  in  Dimedin  by 
a  cast  composed  of  both  amateurs  and 
professionals. 

His  professional  d£but  was  made  on 
April  i,  1880,  in  Wellington,  New  Zealand, 
in  a  company  headed  by  Walter  Reynolds. 
After  a  month  with  this  organisation  he 
became  connected  with  a  stock  company  at 
Christ  Church,  of  which  William  Hoskins  was 
the  manager.  Here  he  appeared  in  "The 
Danites,"  "Arrah-na-Pogue,"  and  "The  Three 
Guardsmen."  W.  H.  Leake  was  the  D'Ar- 
tagnan  of  this  last  performance. 

A  year  of  stock  work  in  his  home  town  of 
Dunedin  followed,  during  which  time  he  sup- 
ported many  local  stars.  Then  Miss  Louise 
Pomeroy,  who  was  touring  New  Zealand  in 
legitimate  drama,  offered  him  a  position 
in  her  company,  which  he  accepted,  Mr. 


216  Famous  Actors. 

Jewett's  next  venture  was  in  Australia,  where 
he  came  under  the  management  of  W.  J. 
Holloway.  He  first  played  sixteen  weeks  in 
Ballarat,  Victoria,  opening  on  Boxing  Day, 
December  26,  1882,  as  Clifford  Armitage,  in 
"The  Lights  o'  London."  Others  of  his 
characters  at  that  time  were  the  Chevalier 
in  "The  Two  Orphans,"  and  Jack  Adderly 
in  "Across  the  Continent."  Among  the 
stars  whom  he  supported  were  J.  B.  Polk, 
in  "  The  Strategist,"  and  George  Darrell. 

In  support  of  Mr.  Darrell,  in  "  The  Sunny 
South,"  Mr.  Jewett  went  to  Melbourne, 
where  he  appeared  also  in  a  play  called 
"The  Naked  Truth."  Louise  Pomeroy  then 
joined  the  company  as  a  star,  and  with  her 
was  Arthur  Elliott,  afterward  well  known  in 
the  United  States  as  a  member  of  the  Fanny 
Davenport  and  the  MacDowell-Walsh  com- 
panies. After  the  Melbourne  engagement 
the  company  journeyed  to  Queensland,  where 
the  plays  presented  were  "The  Silver  King," 


Henry  Jewett.  217 

"The  Lights  o'  London,"  "Queen's  Evi- 
dence," and  "The  Two  Orphans." 

In  1884  Mr.  Jewett  joined  Wybert  Reeve's 
company  in  Adelaide  as  leading  juvenile. 
Here  he  had  an  opportunity  to  appear  in 
many  modern  dramas,  including  "  Diplomacy," 
"The  Money  Spinner,"  "The  Squire,"  and 
others  of  the  early  Pinero  plays.  After  this 
engagement  Mr.  Jewett  returned  to  Aus- 
tralia, playing  on  tour  the  Spider  in  "The 
Silver  King."  During  the  season  of  1885- 
86,  under  Mr.  Holloway's  management,  he 
acted  in  support  of  the  popular  Australian 
star,  Essie  Jenyns,  playing  Mercutio  in 
"  Romeo  and  Juliet,"  and  lachimo  in  "  Cym- 
beline."  A  year  in  the  stock  company  of  the 
Theatre  Royal  in  Melbourne  followed,  during 
which  time  he  appeared  in  the  first  production 
of  "Human  Nature,"  which  was  later  known 
in  this  country  as  "The  Soudan."  Mr.  Jew- 
ett created  the  part  of  the  villainous  attorney. 

Mr.  Jewett's  next  experience  was  as  lead- 


2i8  Famous  Actors. 

ing  man  for  Signer  and  Signora  Majeroni, 
with  whom  he  spent  two  years,  travelling 
with  them  in  Victoria,  Queensland,  and  New 
Zealand.  He  appeared  as  Louis  XVI.  in 
"  Marie  Antoinette,"  Chateau  Renaud  in  "The 
Corsican  Brothers,"  James  of  Scotland  in 
"  Queen  Elizabeth,"  Leicester  in  " Mary 
Stuart,"  and  Prince  Egon  in  a  version  of 
Ouida's  "Wanda."  In  1888  he  was  at  Her 
Majesty's  Theatre,  Sydney,  as  leading  man 
for  George  Rignold,  with  whom  he  played 
parts  of  the  widest  range,  among  them  Cas- 
sius  in  "Julius  Caesar,"  Danny  Mann  in 
"The  Colleen  Bawn,"  Clifford  Armitage  in 
"The  Lights  o'  London,"  the  Chevalier 
in  "  The  Chevalier  de  Vaudry,"  Philip  Roy- 
ton  in  "  Romany  Rye,"  Michael  Feeny  in 
" Arrah-na-Pogue,"  Ned  Singleton  in  "My 
Pardner,"  and  Faust  in  "Faust."  During 
this  engagement  he  married  Miss  Frances 
Hastings,  of  Melbourne. 

After   a   short    farewell    season    in    Aus- 


Henry  Jewe  tt.  219 

tralia,  when  he  played  with  Jennie  Lee, 
acting,  last  of  all  in  Australia,  Bob  Brierly 
in  "The  Ticket-of-Leave  Man,"  Mr.  Jewett 
came  to  America.  He  arrived  in  San  Fran- 
cisco in  September,  1892,  and  the  next 
month  he  made  his  first  appearance  in  this 
country  as  a  member  of  the  Stockwell  The- 
atre company  of  San  Francisco.  In  the 
company,  of  which  Mr.  Jewett  was  leading 
man,  were  E.  J.  Henley,  John  Jack,  Arthur 
Byron  and  Aubrey  Boucicault.  Mr.  Jewett's 
first  part  was  Charles  Cashmore  in  "My 
Uncle's  Will,"  played  as  a  curtain  raiser  to 
a  play  by  Aubrey  Boucicault,  called  "The 
Favourite."  Later  Mr.  Jewett  acted  in 
"  Nancy  &  Co.,"  "  A  Night  Off,"  "  Siberia," 
"  Shadows  of  a  Great  City,"  "  Two  Roses," 
and  "  Pink  Dominoes." 

The  next  season  Mr.  Jewett  became  lead- 
ing man  for  Julia  Marlowe,  and  in  this 
capacity  he  was  first  seen  in  the  East.  He 
acted  in  all  the  dramas  in  Miss  Marlowe's 


22O  Famous  Actors. 

repertory  at  that  time,  among  his  characters 
being  Wildrake  in  "The  Love  Chase,"  Ben- 
edick in  "Much  Ado  about  Nothing,"  Sir 
Thomas  Clifford  in  «  The  Hunchback/'  Do- 
rincourt  in  "  The  Belle's  Stratagem,"  Romeo, 
Ingomar,  and  Malvolio. 

During  the  season  of  1894-95  Mr.  Jewett 
was  with  the  Richard  Mansfield  company, 
and  created  the  character  of  Sergius  in 
George  Bernard  Shaw's  remarkable  play, 
"Arms  and  the  Man."  With  Rose  Cogh- 
lan  Mr.  Jewett  acted  Julian  Beauciere  in 
"Diplomacy,"  and  also  appeared  in  "To 
Nemesis."  Then  he  returned  to  Mr.  Mans- 
field and  again  assumed  the  rdle  of  Sergius 
at  the  Garrick  Theatre  in  New  York.  Later 
he  was  in  "  The  King  of  Peru,"  a  failure, 
and  after  that  he  assumed  leading  characters 
in  the  Mansfield  repertory. 

Mr.  Jewett  was  seen  on  December  27, 
1895,  and  on  January  15,  1896,  in  New 
York  and  Brooklyn,  in  a  drama  by  W.  Echard 


Henry  Jewett.  2  2 1 

Golden  called  "Benedict  Arnold."  This  did 
not  prove  to  be  a  success,  but  Mr.  Jewett's 
work  brought  forth  the  following  comment 
from  the  Brooklyn  Eagle : 

"  Jewett's  performance  of  '  Benedict  Ar- 
nold '  places  him  at  a  bound  in  the  foremost 
rank  of  a  difficult  and  overcrowded  profes- 
sion. His  performance  is  clearly  conceived, 
and  executed  with  judgment  and  power.  If 
it  does  nothing  else  for  him,  it  at  least 
settles  his  claim  to  be  considered  an  actor 
of  great  distinction  and  of  equal  versatility. 
We  have  not  often  seen  anything  so  good 
as  his  death-scene  in  this  play.  Equal  to 
this  in  tenderness  and  fidelity  to  nature  were 
his  scenes  with  his  wife,  —  manly,  not  mawk- 
ish ;  romantic,  not  gushing ;  dignified,  while 
instinct  with  love.  He  did  not  as  a  lover 
strike  one  false  note." 

Following  this,  Mr.  Jewett  appeared  in 
classic  drama  in  a  company  organised  by 
George  C.  Miln,  in  which  appeared  also 


222  Famous  Actors. 

Eben  Plympton,  who  was  afterward  replaced 
by  John  Malone,  and  Mary  Shaw.  Perform- 
ances of  "Julius  Caesar"  and  "Othello" 
were  given  in  New  York  and  Brooklyn, 
Mr.  Jewett  playing  Cassius  and  Othello. 
For  the  summer  season  Mr.  Jewett  organised 
a  stock  company,  which  appeared  in  Kansas 
City  in  "  Benedict  Arnold,"  "  Captain  Swift," 
and  "  Pink  Dominoes,"  and  gave  open- 
air  performances  of  "The  Merry  Wives  of 
Windsor,"  with  William  F.  Owen  as  Fal- 
staff,  "Twelfth  Night,"  with  Mrs.  Jewett 
as  Viola,  and  "The  Lyons  Mail." 

During  the  season  of  1896-97  Mr.  Jewett 
was  again  with  Mr.  Mansfield.  The  next 
season  he  was  in  Fanny  Davenport's  pro- 
duction of  "Joan  of  Arc,"  and  during  the 
summer  of  1898  he  played  in  St.  Louis  in 
Shakespearian  and  classic  dramas.  He  joined 
"The  Christian"  company  on  March  6,  1899, 
in  Boston,  and  continued  with  it  until  the 
end  of  the  season. 


STUART    ROBSON 
As  Bertie  in  "  The  Henrietta.' 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

STUART    ROBSON. 

STUART  ROBSON  was  a  page  in  the  Thir- 
tieth and  Thirty-first  Congresses  before  he 
became  an  actor.  He  was  born  in  Annap- 
olis, Maryland,  on  March  4,  1836,  and  was 
christened  Henry  Robson  Stuart.  His  father 
was  Charles  Stuart,  a  Scotchman  by  descent 
and  a  lawyer  by  profession.  His  mother 
came  from  a  well-known  Maryland  family. 
Her  father,  John  Thompson,  built  the  first 
Roman  Catholic  church  in  St.  Mary's 
County,  Maryland,  at  his  own  expense. 
John  Thompson  was  a  nephew  of  Charles 
Thompson,  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence.  Stuart  Robson's  mother's 
father,  Henry  Johnson,  was  a  Senator  from 
223 


224  Famous  Actors. 

Maryland.  Her  cousin,  John  Johnson,  was 
Chancellor  of  the  State  for  many  years,  and 
his  second  cousin,  Reverdy  Johnson,  was  the 
greatest  lawyer  of  his  time  in  Maryland. 

Charles  Stuart  moved  to  Baltimore  soon 
after  Stuart  Robson  was  born,  and  the  boy 
grew  up  in  that  city.  The  family  resources 
were  not  over  large,  and  it  early  became 
necessary  for  the  youth  to  do  something  to 
increase  the  family  fund.  Reverdy  Johnson 
gave  him  letters  to  friends  in  Washington, 
and  to  that  city  he  journeyed  for  the  purpose 
of  becoming  a  Capitol  page. 

"  On  my  arrival  there,"  said  Mr.  Robson, 
"  I  found  more  than  a  hundred  boys,  all  with 
more  influence  than  I  had,  clamouring  for 
the  dozen  places  to  be  filled.  Yet  I  held  on 
to  what  little  grip  my  letters  gave  me,  and 
one  day  secured  Jefferson  Davis  as  one  of 
my  sponsors.  One  of  the  boys  was  reported 
sick  one  morning,  and  I  immediately  rushed 
for  the  doorkeeper,  and  was  sent  on  the  floor 


Stuart  Robson.  225 

of  the  House  to  take  the  place  of  the  sick 
boy.  Howell  Cobb  was  then  Speaker  of  the 
House,  and  Robert  Toombs  and  Alexander 
H.  Stephens  of  Georgia  were  members.  Mr. 
Toombs  had  signed  my  application.  I  natu- 
rally kept  my  eye  on  him  that  fateful  day, 
and  never  missed  an  opportunity  to  jump  to 
his  desk  on  the  slightest  provocation.  Late 
in  the  afternoon,  he  and  Mr.  Stephens  were 
at  their  desks,  and  talking  to  them  was  a  very 
large  gentleman,  with  the  biggest  feet  I  ever 
saw  on  a  man.  Finally,  a  member  sitting  di- 
rectly behind  Mr.  Toombs  clapped  for  a  page. 
I  immediately  made  for  him,  and  in  passing 
this  ponderous  man  with  the  big  feet  I  stum- 
bled over  him.  He  gave  me  an  awful  nudge 
in  the  ribs  with  his  elbow,  which  nearly 
knocked  me  down,  and  said : 

"  '  You  careless  little  rascal !  Can't  you 
see  where  you're  going?' 

"Mr.  Toombs  laughed  heartily,  but  I  was  in 
anything  but  good  humour  over  the  incident. 


226  Famous  Actors. 

I  completed  my  errand  for  the  member  who 
had  called,  and  then  took  my  seat  below  the 
Speaker's  desk.  A  few  minutes  later  the 
large  man  with  the  big  feet,  who,  as  I  after- 
ward learned,  was  General  Winfield  Scott, 
left  the  House,  and  Mr.  Toombs  called  me. 
He  was  in  excellent  humour,  and  said : 

" '  Son,  there's  another  man  over  there 
with  big  feet,  and  if  you'll  go  over  and  fall 
over  them,  I'll  give  you  half  a  dollar.'  Then 
he  added  :  <  You're  a  new  boy  here,  aren't 
you  ? '  I  explained  to  him  that  I  was  on  duty 
only  for  the  day,  and  reminded  him  that  he 
was  on  my  petition  for  a  regular  place. 

"  <  Is  that  so  ? '  said  he.  <  Well,  I  will  go 
to  the  doorkeeper  with  you  now,  and  have  it 
fixed.' 

"He  took  me  by  the  hand  and  went 
directly  to  Mr.  Horner,  and  said,  bluffly, 
to  him : 

"'Why  don't  you  give  this  boy  a  place. 
Didn't  I  recommend  him  ? ' 


Stuart  Robson.  227 

"  The  doorkeeper  explained  that  he  was  so 
crowded  with  applications  that  he  could  not 
find  a  place  for  me,  but  he  promised  Mr. 
Toombs  that  I  should  have  the  first  vacancy. 
One  morning  I  found  out  that  one  of  the  lads 
had  been  taken  off  by  his  parents.  I  imme- 
diately pounced  upon  the  doorkeeper  and  re- 
minded him  of  his  promise,  but  he  put  me 
off,  saying  that  he  was  so  crowded  with 
other  obligations  that  he  could  not  take  care 
of  me.  I  reported  the  facts  to  Mr.  Toombs. 

"'The  devil  you  say,'  said  the  statesman 
from  Georgia.  '  I'll  see  whether  he  puts  you 
on  or  not.' 

"He  took  me  by  the  hand  and  walked 
directly  over  to  where  the  doorkeeper  was 
sitting  and  said  : 

"  <  Why  don't  you  put  this  boy  on  as  you 
agreed  to  ? ' 

"  '  My  dear  Mr.  Toombs,'  he  answered,  '  I 
cannot  do  it.  I  have  made  some  other  prom- 
ises that  I  must  first  fulfil.' 


228  Famous  Actors. 

" '  The  thunder  you  must ! '  said  Mr. 
Toombs,  very  emphatically.  '  You'll  either 
put  this  boy  on  or  I'll  put  you  out.' 

"  From  that  day  I  was  a  page  in  the  Capi- 
tol until  I  got  so  big  that  I  had  no  business 
there.  I  kept  the  boy's  jacket  buttoned  to 
the  trousers  until  I  was  a  sight,  and  they 
caught  on  to  it  and  I  had  to  leave." 

Mr.  Robson's  first  theatrical  experience 
was  when,  as  a  boy,  in  company  with  Edwin 
and  John  Wilkes  Booth,  S.  Barry,  John 
Sleeper  Clarke,  W.  Talbot,  and  G.  H.  Stout, 
he  rigged  up  a  stage  in  a  stable  loft  in  Balti- 
more, and  gave  shows,  to  which  boys  were 
admitted  for  three  cents  and  little  boys  for 
two  cents.  When  Mr.  Robson  made  up  his 
mind  to  adopt  the  stage  professionally,  he  re- 
solved to  become  a  great  tragedian.  His  first 
engagement  was  as  a  member  of  the  Baltimore 
Museum  company,  of  which  John  Owens  was 
manager,  and  he  made  his  debut  on  January 
5,  1852,  as  Horace  Courtney,  a  serious 


Stuart  Robson.  229 

and  sentimental  youth,  who  appeared  in  a 
piece  called  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  As  It  Is," 
which  was  written  to  counteract  the  effect 
of  Mrs.  Stowe's  work.  Mr.  Robson  had  just 
one  line  to  speak,  and  it  was  pure  tragedy, 
the  words  being,  "  Farewell,  my  mother,  — 
farewell,  perhaps  for  ever ! "  He  studied 
that  line  long  and  earnestly,  and  fancied  that 
he  could  put  any  amount  of  pathos  into  it, 
but,  as  well  may  be  imagined,  the  audience 
received  the  speech,  given  in  a  high-pitched 
voice,  that  shook  and  quavered  from  a  vio- 
lent attack  of  stage  fright,  with  roars  of 
laughter.  Mr.  Robson's  connection  with  the 
Baltimore  Museum  and  his  purpose  to  be 
a  tragedian  ended  that  same  night.  Low 
comedy,  he  vowed,  was  good  enough  for  him. 
For  the  next  three  years  he  played  utility 
and  small  comedy  parts  in  John  Keenan's 
Varieties  Theatre  in  Washington,  and,  in 
September,  1855,  he  became  second  low 
comedian  in  Wayne  Olwyne's  Museum  in 


230  Famous  Actors. 

Troy,  New  York.  During  1856  he  toured 
the  Western  circuit  as  leading  comedian  in  a 
company  managed  by  John  G.  Cartlitch,  the 
original  Mazeppa.  In  September,  1857,  he 
returned  to  the  Baltimore  Museum.  His  suc- 
cess was  so  great  that  he  was  engaged  by  John 
T.  Ford,  of  the  Holliday  Street  Theatre,  where 
he  remained  three  years.  The  seasons  of 
1860-61-62  were  passed  in  Richmond,  St. 
Louis,  Washington,  and  Cincinnati,  and  then 
Mr.  Robson  became  the  comedian  at  Laura 
Keene's  Theatre  in  New  York,  making  his 
first  appearance  in  that  city  in  September, 
1862,  as  Bob  in  "Old  Heads  and  Young 
Hearts."  The  next  season  he  was  engaged 
by  Mrs.  John  Drew  for  the  Arch  Street 
Theatre,  Philadelphia,  and  there  he  remained 
for  three  years. 

"  When  I  joined  the  Arch  Street  Theatre 
company,"  said  Mr.  Robson,  "J.  S.  Clarke 
had  preceded  me,  and  so  had  the  elder  John 
Drew.  It  was  up-hill  work  for  me  for  a  long 


Stuart  Robson.  231 

time.  I  played  Bob  Acres  the  first  night. 
I  was  as  anxious  to  make  the  people  laugh 
that  night  as  I  had  been  to  impress  them 
seriously  when  on  the  stage  of  the  Baltimore 
Museum,  but  the  house  was  as  silent  as  the 
grave  over  my  work.  I  couldn't  raise  a 
ghost  of  a  laugh.  After  the  curtain  went 
down  it  was  decided  to  drop  me  as  soon  as  it 
could  be  done  decently.  In  the  meantime  I 
was  cast  to  play  the  leading  part  in  'John 
Wopps,  Policeman.'  Now  it  chanced  that 
at  that  time  Philadelphia  was  stirred  up  over 
a  real  policeman  who  was  in  love  with  a 
widow,  and  had  left  his  post  to  court  her. 
He  declared  that  he  had  been  absent  in 
the  pursuit  of  duty.  In  the  play  I  made 
love  to  a  butcher's  wife,  —  played  by  Cor- 
nelia Jefferson,  Joseph  Jefferson's  sister,  — 
and  the  butcher  discovered  me  embracing 
her,  whereat  he  cried  out : 

"  '  Knuckles  o'  beef  and  ribs  o'  weal,  here's 
a  go  !     What's  this  I  see  ? ' 


232  Famous  Actors. 

"  I  don't  recall  the  written  answer  to  this, 
but  I  do  remember  the  one  I  improvised.  It 
came  to  me  like  a  flash.  Without  removing 
my  arm  from  about  the  woman's  waist  I  said  : 

"  '  How  dare  you  interrupt  a  policeman  in 
the  pursuit  of  his  official  duties,  sir  ? ' 

"  That  brought  down  the  house,  and  there 
was  no  more  talk  about  getting  rid  of  me  as 
soon  as  possible.  In  fact,  from  that  time  I 
was  a  great  favourite  in  Philadelphia." 

Mr.  Robson  next  appeared  in  New  Or- 
leans, and  during  1868-69-70  he  was  at 
Selwyn's  North  Globe  Theatre  in  Boston. 
After  a  brief  engagement  with  Mrs.  John 
Wood  in  "King  Carrott,"  at  the  Grand 
Opera,  New  York,  he  became  a  star  as  John 
Beat,  a  policeman,  in  John  Bradford's  farce, 
"  Law  in  New  York,"  opening  at  the  How- 
ard Athenaeum  in  Boston.  This  venture 
was  only  moderately  successful,  and  a  three 
years'  engagement  at  the  Union  Square 
Theatre,  New  York,  followed.  After  this 


Stuart  Robson.  233 

Mr.  Robson  and  Charles  R.  Thorne,  Jr., 
acted  in  London,  opening  at  the  Gaiety 
Theatre  on  July  i,  1874,  in  "Led  Astray," 
Mr.  Robson  playing  Hector.  In  1876  began 
a  tour  in  Bret  Harte's  "Two  Men  of  Sandy 
Bar,"  which  proved  a  failure,  and  Mr.  Rob- 
son  lost  $6,000,  —  the  savings  of  ten  years. 
The  next  year  saw  him  in  his  great  success, 
in  connection  with  William  Crane,  of  Pro- 
fessor Gillipod  in  Leonard  Grover's  "Our 
Boarding  House,"  which  was  produced  at  the 
Park  Theatre,  New  York,  on  January  23, 
1877.  The  meeting  resulted  in  the  partner- 
ship of  Mr.  Crane  and  Mr.  Robson,  which 
lasted  twelve  years,  during  which  time  they 
produced  a  number  of  successful  farces, 
besides  Shakespeare's  "Twelfth  Night," 
"  Comedy  of  Errors,"  and  "  Merry  Wives  of 
Windsor."  In  1888  came  "The  Henrietta," 
regarding  the  production  of  which  Mr.  Rob- 
son  said : 

"  Crane  and  I  began  our  association  in  a 


234  Famous  Actors. 

farce.  After  a  season  or  two  of  'Our 
Bachelors'  we  did  the  'Comedy  of  Errors,' 
but  without  any  scenic  display.  Then  we 
had  farce-comedies  written  for  us  by  Clay 
Green  and  Joseph  Bradford.  These  also  did 
very  well,  but  we  felt  that  we  wanted,  if 
possible,  to  get  above  that  class  of  work. 
Then  we  tried  'Twelfth  Night,'  but  Sir 
Andrew  and  Sir  Toby  are  only  subsidiary 
to  the  main  story,  and  the  public  didn't  care 
to  see  stars  in  minor  parts.  So  we  deter- 
mined on  a  grand  revival  of  'The  Dromios.' 
We  spent  $23,000  on  it  before  the  curtain 
went  up.  Well,  it  was  a  very  great  success, 
but  it  would  not  last  very  long  in  the  coun- 
try because  so  many  had  seen  us  in  these 
parts  before,  and  they  didn't  want  to  come 
again  simply  because  we  were  doing  the 
piece  more  elaborately.  Then  we  did  'The 
Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,'  and  this  paid,  but 
as  Crane  played  Falstaff  I  didn't  have  much 
chance.  Next  we  considered  if  there  were 


Stuart  Robson.  235 

any  more  of  the  Shakespearian  comedies  we 
could  do,  but  we  found  the  same  objection 
that  had  arisen  in  the  case  of  <  Twelfth 
Night,'  that  the  comedy  parts  were  too 
subordinate  to  be  starred  in. 

"  As  our  performances  of  Shakespeare's 
comedies  had  raised  us  above  our  former 
farces,  we  did  not  want  to  return  to  them. 
We  sought  Bronson  Howard.  This  was  just 
about  a  year  before  '  The  Henrietta '  was 
produced.  He  had  never  seen  Crane  act. 
We  had  many  talks,  and  at  last  Howard 
evolved  a  scheme.  When  he  told  Crane 
it  necessitated  his  doing  a  little  pathos, 
Crane  said  it  was  simply  impossible.  He 
had  been  trained  in  burlesque,  and  he  had 
never  ventured  on  in  anything  with  a  touch 
of  sentiment  in  it.  However,  we  both  in- 
sisted that  Crane  could  do  what  was  needed, 
and  later,  when  Howard  saw  him  play  in 
some  of  our  old  pieces,  he  became  more 
positive  on  the  point. 


236  Famous  Actors. 

"It  was  nine  months  after  our  first  talk 
with  Howard  that  he  read  us  the  first  act 
at  Cohasset.  From  that  time  each  act,  as 
it  was  finished  was  read  and  discussed,  and 
suggestions  given  and  alterations  made. 
Finally  we  heard  the  whole  play  read  many 
times.  Howard  took  lots  of  pencilled  notes 
and  went  away  with  his  manuscript.  We 
heard  no  more  of  it  until  it  was  read  to  the 
whole  company.  As  it  was  then  read  so  it 
was  played,  without  a  word  being  altered  or 
a  line  cut  out.  This  I  think  is  wonderful, 
and  speaks  volumes  for  Mr.  Howard's  knowl- 
edge of  his  craft.  I  don't  believe  there  is 
another  instance  known  of  a  modern  play 
not  having  been  altered  at  rehearsal." 

On  May  12,  1889,  the  partnership  between 
Mr.  Crane  and  Mr.  Robson  was  dissolved, 
Mr.  Robson  purchasing  Mr.  Crane's  interest 
in  "The  Henrietta"  for  $25,000.  He  con- 
tinued as  a  star  in  this  play,  in  succeeding 
years  adding  to  his  repertory  "Is  Marriage 


Stuart  Rob  son.  237 

a  Failure?"  "Comedy  of  Errors,"  and  "She 
Stoops  to  Conquer."  Last  season  he  ap- 
peared in  Augustus  Thomas's  comedy,  "The 
Meddler." 

Mr.  Robson's  first  wife  died  in  1890,  and 
a  year  later,  he  married  Miss  May  Waldron, 
who  had  been  for  many  seasons  a  member 
of  his  company  and  who  still  acts  with  him. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  W.  H.  Dougherty, 
a  New  York  journalist,  and  was  born  in 
Hamilton,  Ontario.  In  1885  she  was  a 
member  of  Augustin  Daly's  company,  and 
shortly  after  that  she  joined  Robson  and 
Crane,  first  acting  Phryne  in  the  "Comedy 
of  Errors."  She  played  Lady  Mary  Tre- 
lawney  in  "The  Henrietta,"  and  afterward 
Mrs.  Cornelia  Opdyke.  In  "Is  Marriage  a 
Failure  ? "  she  was  Mrs.  Kent,  and  in  "  She 
Stoops  to  Conquer,"  Kate  Hardcastle. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

MELBOURNE    MACDOWELL. 

WHEN  Fanny  Davenport  produced  Sar- 
dou's  "  La  Tosca "  in  this  country,  at  the 
Broadway  Theatre,  New  York,  on  March  3, 
1888,  Melbourne  MacDowell  acted  the  part 
of  Scarpia.  One  year  later  he  married  Miss 
Davenport,  and  his  theatrical  career  was 
identified  with  hers  until  her  death  in  1898. 
Then  he  became  associated  with  Blanche 
Walsh,  who  last  season  was  so  successful  in 
the  Davenport  repertory.  Mr.  MacDowell 's 
name  is  closely  connected  with  the  roles  of 
Loris  in  « Fedora,"  Scarpia  in  "  La  Tosca/' 
and  Marc  Antony  in  "  Cleopatra."  Mr.  Mac- 
Dowell has  an  imposing  stage  presence,  and 
238 


MELBOURNE    MACDOWELL. 


Melbourne  MacDowell.  239 

his  physique  is  superb.  Histrionically,  while 
by  no  means  great,  he  always  attracts  one 
by  his  sincerity  and  intelligence.  His  range 
is  somewhat  limited,  but  within  that  range 
he  is  convincing,  forceful,  and  dramatically 
impressive.  I  like  best  of  all  his  Marc 
Antony,  which  pictorially  realises  the  ideal 
of  the  Roman  warrior.  Mr.  MacDowell  in- 
terprets the  character  with  rare  simplicity. 
His  action  is  straightforward  and  honest. 
Other  actors  might  excel  him  in  subtilty 
and  in  suggestiveness,  but  it  is  doubtful  if 
any  could  make  the  Sardou  creation  more 
lifelike  or  more  comprehensive. 

Mr.  MacDowell  was  born  in  Little  Wash- 
ington, New  Jersey,  and  the  late  E.  A.  Mac- 
Dowell was  his  older  brother.  Melbourne 
MacDowell  began  life  by  running  away  to 
sea.  His  first  experiences  in  the  theatrical 
business  occurred  in  Montreal,  where  he  was 
a  ticket-seller  and  assistant  doorkeeper  in 
the  theatre  of  which  his  brother  was  man- 


240  Famous  Actors. 

ager.  Occasionally  the  stage-manager  would 
borrow  him  to  help  out  in  some  production, 
and  once  he  played  Charles,  the  wrestler,  in 
"  As  You  Like  It,"  when  Adelaide  Neilson 
was  the  Rosalind  and  Eben  Plympton  the 
Orlando. 

"  I  was  very  fond  of  boxing  and  wrestling, 
and  had  something  of  a  local  reputation  as 
an  amateur  athlete,"  remarked  Mr.  Mac- 
Dowell,  "  but  my  ideas  of  acting  were  a 
little  vague.  The  first  scene  between  Charles 
and  Oliver  had  to  be  cut  because  I  could 
not  speak  the  lines,  but  in  the  scene  of 
the  wrestling  match  I  collared  my  one  line, 
—  for  Charles's  second  speech  was  also 
cut,  —  and  when  my  cue  came  I  bellowed 
it  forth  at  the  top  of  my  voice.  The  house 
hooted  and  hissed  and  applauded.  Miss  Neil- 
son  nearly  swallowed  her  handkerchief  as 
she  made  a  break  for  the  back  of  the  stage. 
She  had  a  keen  sense  of  humour,  and  that 
was  just  the  sort  of  a  mishap  that  she  would 


Melbourne  MacDowell.  241 

enjoy.  I  thought  I  had  made  the  hit  of  my 
life.  I  was  proud  of  myself.  Then  came 
the  wrestling  match.  The  house  was  still 
applauding  and  laughing  when  we  began,  and 
in  a  minute  I  had  forgotten  that  my  part 
called  for  a  voluntary  fall.  I  wasn't  going 
to  let  Plympton  down  me  before  all  those 
people.  My  blood  was  up.  If  I  went  down 
it  would  only  be  because  Plympton  threw  me 
fairly  by  skill.  '  Fall,  fall/  said  he,  under  his 
breath.  <  I'll  be  hanged  if  I  do  unless  you 
throw  me/  I  replied.  *  My  dear  fellow,  you 
must,  you  know/  he  argued;  and  still  I 
tugged  on.  'Fall/  came  the  command  from 
my  brother  who  was  in  the  wings.  The  gal- 
lery got  on  to  the  fact  that  the  wrestling 
was  in  earnest,  and  the  boys  shouted  with 
delight.  Finally,  I  did  the  Greco-Roman  act, 
and  poor  Plympton  went  over  my  head  and 
flat  on  his  back  where  Charles  should  have 
been,  and  the  scene  had  gone  all  to  pieces." 
A  similar  unwillingness  to  be  beaten,  even 


242  Famous  Actors. 

in  the  interests  of  dramatic  art,  got  Mr. 
MacDowell  into  trouble  when  he  was  given 
the  part  of  Tim  Cogan  in  "  Arrah-na-Pogue." 
Cogan  has  an  Irish  jig  contest  with  Katy 
Walsh  in  the  wedding  scene,  and  Cogan  is 
supposed  to  be  out-danced  by  the  woman. 
Mr.  MacDowell  forgot  all  about  this  during 
the  excitement,  and  only  came  to  a  realising 
sense  of  his  wrong-doing  when  the  woman, 
after  striving  bravely  to  follow  the  author's 
directions,  was  compelled  to  quit,  completely 
exhausted. 

Mr.  MacDowell's  first  regular  engagement 
as  an  actor  was  at  the  Boston  Museum,  to 
which  he  went  in  1877.  Annie  Clarke  was 
then  leading  woman  of  the  company,  and 
Charles  Barren  was  leading  man.  William 
Warren  was  principal  comedian.  E.  A.  Mac- 
Dowell was  a  member  of  the  company,  and 
at  his  earnest  request  Melbourne  had  himself 
billed  as  William  Melbourne.  His  first  part 
was  the  sheriff's  officer  in  "  Road  to  Ruin." 


Melbourne  MacDowell.  243 

"  Up  to  the  time  I  came  to  Boston,"  said 
Mr.  MacDowell,  "I  had  never  known  what 
stage  fright  was.  My  first  entrance  in  <  Road 
to  Ruin  '  was  to  arrest  the  man  playing  Mil- 
ford.  Unluckily  it  was  in  a  front  scene.  A 
front  set  is  a  young  actor's  terror.  It  brings 
him  on  right  down  at  the  footlights,  so  near 
the  audience.  When  he  comes  on  up  the 
stage,  on  a  full  set,  he  doesn't  feel  the  audi- 
ence, but  in  one  of  those  front  sets  it  is 
dreadful.  Well,  I,  who  had  never  been  ner- 
vous in  my  life,  was  suddenly  and  unexpect- 
edly stricken  with  stage  fright.  I  went  on 
all  right.  I  lifted  my  hand  and  opened  my 
mouth.  I  couldn't  take  my  hand  down.  I 
couldn't  shut  my  mouth.  I  was  simply  para- 
lysed, transfixed.  I  haven't  a  notion  how 
long  I  stood  there  when  Barney  Nolan 
fetched  me  off.  But  the  scene  had  to  be 
done.  I  was  pulled  together  and  went  on 
again.  This  time  I  managed  to  speak.  I 
shouted.  Every  one  on  the  stage  was  whis- 


244  Famous  Actors. 

paring,  <  Easy,  easy,  my  boy,'  or  '  Sh,  Sh ! 
Don't  shout ! '  But  I  was  keyed  up  and 
had  to  go  on.  Barron  used  to  say  after  that, 
in  his  quiet  way,  '  MacDowell  is  a  good  actor, 
but  he's  a  bit  loud.'  By  the  way,  what  a 
good  actor  Barron  was !  I  never  knew  a 
man  who  could  play  so  many  parts  so  well, 
and  play  them  so  easily.  You  never  heard 
him  complaining.  Yet  the  bill  was  changed 
constantly,  for  there  were  no  long  runs  in 
those  days.  You  never  knew  even  when  he 
learned  his  parts,  but  he  always  came  to 
rehearsal  letter  perfect,  which  was  more  than 
the  young  actors  did." 

After  leaving  the  Museum  Mr.  Mac- 
Dowell returned  to  Montreal,  where  he  re- 
mained two  seasons,  playing  leading  heavy 
parts,  his  first  character  being  the  Duke  de 
Gonzague  in  "The  Duke's  Motto."  Next 
he  was  three  years  in  a  stock  company  in 
Minneapolis,  first  as  walking  gentleman,  and 
then  in  more  important  capacities.  One  of 


Melbourne  MacDowell.  245 

his  roles  was  Cinq  Mars  in  "  The  Iron  Mask," 
a  part  that  Lester  Wallack  used  to  play.     A 
season  with  the  Molly  Maguire  piece,  "The 
Black  Diamond  Engineer,"  which  was  under 
the  management  of  Charles  Forbes,  followed. 
"Forbes  just  doted  on  me,"   declared  Mr. 
MacDowell,  dryly.     "He  thought  I  was  the 
biggest  actor  going  because  I  could  shout 
so."     The  season  after  leaving  Forbes  Mr. 
MacDowell  acted  Aaron  Rodney  in   one  of 
the  Madison   Square   "  Hazel   Kirke "   com- 
panies,  and   then   Joseph    Murphy  engaged 
him  to  play  Valentine  Hay  in  "  Kerry  Gow." 
"  Do  you  know,"  said  Mr.  MacDowell,  "  I 
could  go  back  to  Murphy  and  play  that  part 
any  day  ?     He  wants  me,  and  I  really  don't 
think  he  sees  any  reason  why  I   shouldn't 
come.     I  don't  believe  he  thinks  for  a  mo- 
ment  that  I   have  had  such  a  good  oppor- 
tunity  since.       Once,   when   I   was   in    San 
Francisco  appearing   in    '  Cleopatra,'   I  met 
Murphy  on   the   street.      He   came  to   me 


246  Famous  Actors. 

and  said,  *  You  out  here !     Say,  now,  what's 
to  prevent  you  coming  over  and  playing  Val- 
entine Hay  with  me  for  awhile  ? '      «  Nothing 
at  all,'  I  said.     He  hadn't  a  notion  what  I 
was  doing  and  didn't  discover  until  the  next 
day.     Now  Murphy  liked  me  because  I  was 
a  big  fellow  and  he  could  knock  me  down. 
You  know  on  the  stage  it  is  one  thing  to 
give  a  blow,  but  the  effect  depends  entirely 
on  how  the  man  takes  it.     Very  few  men  are 
willing  to  be  hit  in  the  face.     In  one  act  of 
*  Kerry  Gow,'  in  the  blacksmith  scene,  Dan 
O'Hara  —  that's  Murphy  —  hits  Hay  —  that 
was  I  —  a  blow  fairly  in  the  face.     I  used 
to  square  off  and  take  it  and  do  a  big  fall. 
Murphy  admired  that.     He  would  rush  up  to 
me  after  the  curtain  came  down  and  feel  me  all 
over.     '  Ain't  yer  hurt,  man  ? '  he'd  ask,  anx- 
iously.   '  How  the  devil  do  you  do  it  ? '    Now 
that  made  Murphy  think  me  a  great  actor. 
My  brogue  was  something  queer,  I  can  tell 
you,  but  I  could  take  a  blow  squarely  and  do 


Melbourne  MacDowelL  247 

a  great  fall.  That  fixed  me  with  Murphy.  If 
ever  I  want  an  engagement,  he'll  give  it  to 
me." 

During  the  season  of  1884-85,  Mr.  Mac- 
Dowell  played  in  this  country  Jean  de  Le- 
rieux,  the  part  which  his  brother  had  created 
in  England,  and  then  he  joined  Fanny  Dav- 
enport, to  create  in  this  country  the  role  of 
Scarpia  in  "  La  Tosca." 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

SOL    SMITH    RUSSELL. 

No  one  that  ever  saw  Sol  Smith  Russell 
as  the  impecunious  inventor  in  "A  Poor 
Relation,"  or  as  Hosea  Howe,  the  green 
country  boy  in  "  A  Peaceful  Valley,"  can 
forget  the  unique  temperament  and  quaint 
personality  that  so  thoroughly  permeated 
those  two  plays.  He  will  remember  that 
long,  lank  figure,  and  those  thin  legs,  awk- 
ward and  unstable  and  full  of  queer  twists 
and  turns ;  that  homely  face,  with  its  sweet, 
pathetic  smile,  its  good-natured  drollery  and 
its  beautiful  kindliness,  the  face  of  a  humour- 
ist, keen  for  a  silver  lining  to  brighten  the 
darkest  cloud,  and  marvellously  suscepti- 
ble to  the  slightest  touch  of  honest  senti- 
248 


SOL.    SMITH    RUSSELL 
As  Doctor  Pangloss  in  "  The  Heir-at-Law.' 


Sol  Smith  Russell.  249 

ment,  a  face  that  children  instinctively  love. 
What  the  average  spectator  will  not  recall, 
when  he  thinks  of  Sol  Smith  Russell,  is  the 
actor's  art,  for  that  is  the  thing  least  in  evi- 
dence when  Mr.  Russell  is  on  the  stage. 

Of  course,  with  his  pronounced  individu- 
ality, Mr.  Russell  is  obliged  to  select  charac- 
ters that  are  to  an  extent  eccentric.  He  has 
found,  especially  fitted  to  his  purpose,  the 
odd  types  that  are  characteristic  of  certain 
phases  of  American  life,  —  characters,  un- 
couth in  physique,  unschooled  in  social  con- 
ventionalities, but  with  minds  alert,  with  vast 
ambitions,  and  with  the  get-there,  never-say- 
die  spirit.  Such  a  personage  under  the  actor's 
magic  touch  becomes  one  of  nature's  gentle- 
men, lovable,  kind  of  heart,  generous,  and 
chivalrous.  Mr.  Russell  is  a  true  imperson- 
ator ;  he  never  caricatures,  and  he  never 
burlesques.  He  is  sympathetic  to  an  aston- 
ishing degree,  and  his  command  of  pathos  is 
almost  as  complete  as  is  Joseph  Jefferson's. 


250  Famous  Actors. 

An  optimist  in  every  sense,  he  idealises 
human  nature,  not  to  such  an  extent,  how- 
ever, that  one  feels  that  he  has  gone  beyond 
the  range  of  man's  possibilities.  He  is  always 
faithful  to  life,  and  he  is  always  sincere. 

Years  of  hard  work  and  conscientious 
striving  for  better  things  have  resulted  in 
the  development  of  this  accomplished  artist. 
Mr.  Russell's  experiences  have  been  mani- 
fold ;  he  has  trod  the  dark  by-paths,  and  he 
has  struggled  long  with  adversity  and  misfor- 
tune. As  a  boy  he  travelled  on  foot  from 
town  to  town,  giving  his  little  entertainments 
in  barns  and  cellars.  He  shared  the  hard- 
ships of  the  soldiers  during  the  great  Civil 
War,  brightening  their  lives  with  his  songs 
and  clever  imitations,  and  receiving  in  return 
a  portion  of  their  army  fare.  As  a  humble 
member  of  a  canal  boat  circus,  he  often  shared 
with  the  mules  the  task  of  dragging  the  un- 
wieldy barge.  There  were  years  of  unsatis- 
fied ambition,  when  he  was  counted  only  an 


Sol  Smith  Russell.  25 1 

exceptionally  bright  entertainer  in  variety 
shows. 

Mr.  Russell  was  born  in  Brunswick,  Mis- 
souri, on  June  15,  1848,  but  the  first  dozen 
years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  St.  Louis, 
where  his  father  moved  when  his  son  was 
very  young.  At  that  time  the  father  made 
and  sold  tinware,  but  later  he  became  an 
itinerant  doctor  and  preacher.  Mr.  Russell's 
mother  was  a  daughter  of  Edwin  Matthews, 
who  taught  music  in  Cincinnati,  and  one  of 
Mr.  Russell's  aunts  was  the  wife  of  Sol 
Smith,  the  actor,  for  whom  Mr.  Russell  was 
named.  Both  of  Mr.  Russell's  parents  were 
strongly  religious,  and  in  those  days  that  was 
equivalent  to  saying  that  they  were  vigor- 
ously opposed  to  the  theatre,  so  the  boy's 
early  fondness  for  the  drama  was  gratified 
surreptitiously. 

"  My  very  earliest  recollections  of  any  con- 
nection with  the  stage  are  of  the  production 
of  'The  Savage  of  the  Rocks  of  Borneo,'  in  a 


252  Famous  Actors. 

cellar,"  said  Mr.  Russell.  "  I  had  seen  the 
play  at  the  St.  Louis  Theatre,  and  attempted 
a  reproduction  in  this  underground  play- 
house ;  but,  to  our  misfortune,  the  boy  who 
was  to  act  the  part  of  the  persecuted  Indian 
got  into  a  row  with  the  boy  who  played  the 
White  Maiden,  the  result  being  that  this  first 
episode  in  my  theatrical  career  came  to  a 
sudden  termination." 

In  1860  Mr.  Russell's  father  moved  to 
Jacksonville,  Illinois,  and  it  was  shortly  after 
this  that  Mr.  Russell  organised  a  little  min- 
strel company  among  his  schoolmates.  The 
boys  walked  from  town  to  town,  giving  in 
barns  and  cellars  -their  entertainments,  the 
chief  features  of  which  were  Mr.  Russell's 
comic  impersonations.  Then  the  war  broke 
out,  and  the  youthful  actor  was  wild  to  enlist. 
He  finally  ran  away  and  became  a  drummer- 
boy,  but  was  taken  ill  at  Paducah,  Ken- 
tucky, from  which  place  he  struggled  home 
by  steamboat  and  afoot.  This  experience  did 


Sol  Smith  Russell.  253 

not  kill  his  liking  for  army  life,  however,  and 
as  soon  as  he  recovered  his  health  he  started 
out  again  and  wandered  from  camp  to  camp, 
entertaining  the  soldiers  with  songs  and  im- 
personations, and  sharing  their  bed  and  board. 

"  My  first  theatrical  engagement  was  at  the 
Defiance  Theatre,  Cairo,  Illinois,  in  1862,  at 
the  magnificent  salary  of  six  dollars  a  week," 
said  Mr.  Russell.  "  For  this  recompense  I 
sang  between  the  acts  and  played  and 
drummed  in  the  orchestra.  I  had  for  a 
bed  the  stage  lounge,  and  counted  myself 
lucky  to  have  even  so  good  a  place  to  sleep 
as  that.  The  manager  of  the  theatre,  Mr. 
Holland,  was  very  kind  to  me.  He  took  me 
to  his  home  and  gave  me  free  access  to  his 
excellent  theatrical  library,  and  during  such 
spare  time  as  I  had,  I  read.  My  first  acting 
was  in  a  play  called  '  The  Hidden  Hand,'  and 
my  part  was  that  of  a  negro  girl.  I  made 
quite  a  success  of  it." 

He  was  then  offered  twelve  dollars  a  week 


254  Famous  Actors. 

if  he  would  learn  to  walk  the  slack  wire. 
He  accepted  and  joined  "  Bob  Carter's 
Dog  Show,"  which  travelled  on  a  canal- 
boat.  When  it  was  necessary  Mr.  Russell 
joined  the  mules  in  hauling  the  craft.  His 
next  engagement  was  at  John  Bates' s 
National  Theatre  in  Cincinnati,  where  he 
sang  between  the  acts,  and  after  that  he 
was  a  stock  actor  and  a  singer  in  Deagle's 
Theatre,  St.  Louis.  Then  he  played  in  Mil- 
waukee, later  becoming  connected  with  the 
Peake  Family  Bell  Ringers,  who  followed 
the  army  into  Arkansas  and  Tennessee. 
During  the  season  of  1864-65  Mr.  Russell 
was  second  comedian  in  the  Nashville 
Theatre,  where  Laura  Keene  and  Maggie 
Mitchell  also  played,  and  the  following  season 
he  was  at  Ben  DeBar's  Theatre,  St.  Louis, 
with  Lawrence  Barrett.  The  fall  of  1866 
found  him  visiting  some  small  Western  towns 
and  experiencing  every  variety  of  hard  luck. 
"  Perhaps  you'd  like  to  have  me  tell  you  of 


Sol  Smith  Russell.  255 

my  walk  of  thirty-six  miles  on  a  given  occa- 
sion, with  my  wardrobe,  tied  up  in  a  yellow 
handkerchief,  under  my  arm,"  Mr.  Russell 
remarked ;  "of  my  offering  to  give  an  enter- 
ment,  single-handed  and  alone,  in  a  town,  — 
one  of  the  small  towns  of  the  region, — for 
which  exhibition  of  my  talents  the  boys  of 
the  place  drove  me  into  the  river  and  pom- 
melled me  to  their  evident  delight  and  satis- 
faction ;  of  my  subsisting  for  three  days  on 
one  chicken  ;  of  my  arriving  at  the  little  town 
of  Meredosia,  Illinois,  where  there  was  no 
printing-office ;  of  my  taking  one  old  hand- 
bill from  my  bundle,  and,  procuring  a  bell, 
going  about  the  village  and  arousing  the 
inhabitants,  taking  my  bill  from  house  to 
house,  from  store  to  store,  and  showing  my 
programme,  and  then,  when  evening  came, 
exhibiting  my  abilities  and  talents  to  a  house 
whose  receipts  brought  me,  all  told,  exactly 
sixty-five  cents !  But  after  all  this  was  a 
good  house  for  me  at  that  particular  time. 


256  Famous  Actors. 

Often  I  avoided  hall  hire,  sang  in  the  open 
air,  and  took  up  a  collection  ;  and  on  a  cer- 
tain occasion  I  added  the  sale  of  eye-water, 
at  ten  cents  a  bottle,  to  my  entertainment 
without  any  noticeable  increase  of  receipts." 
Mr.  Russell  first  came  East  with  the 
Berger  Family,  and  his  impersonations  of 
eccentric  characters  and  imitations  of  John 
B.  Gough  attracted  considerable  attention. 
During  1867  he  was  connected  with  the 
stock  company  of  William  E.  Sinn's  Arch 
Street  Theatre,  Philadelphia,  of  which  James 
E.  Murdock  was  the  leading  actor.  The  next 
three  years  were  spent  as  a  monologue  en- 
tertainer in  variety  theatres  in  New  England 
and  elsewhere.  Mr.  Russell's  first  appear- 
ance in  New  York  was  in  1871,  at  Lina 
Edwin's  Theatre.  He  was  then  engaged  for 
the  Olympic  Theatre,  New  York,  of  which 
James  Duff,  the  father-in-law  of  Augustin 
Daly,  was  then  manager.  The  stock  com- 
pany, which  regularly  played  at  the  Olympic 


Sol  Smith  Rttssell.      .  257 

Theatre,  was  an  unusually  large  one,  and 
included  a  ballet  corps  and  a  numerous 
chorus.  Two  or  three  different  plays  were 
given  every  night ;  and  sometimes,  during 
the  same  evening,  Mr.  Russell  was  called 
upon  to  appear  as  a  ballet  girl  in  one  piece 
and  to  impersonate  one  of  the  bearded  ruf- 
fians in  the  next.  The  late  James  Lewis, 
formerly  of  Daly's  Theatre,  was  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  company. 

In  1874  Mr.  Russell  joined  Augustin 
Daly's  company,  making  his  first  appearance, 
on  August  24th,  as  Mr.  Peabody  in  "What 
Could  She  Do  ?  or  Jealousy."  He  left  the 
organisation  after  one  season,  but  rejoined  it 
again  in  1876.  While  with  Mr.  Daly  he  played 
Trip  in  "  The  School  for  Scandal,"  Colander 
in  "  Masks  and  Faces,"  and  like  characters. 

Mr.  Russell  first  appeared  as  a  star  in 
1880.  He  opened  in  Buffalo  in  "Edgewood 
Folks,"  a  piece  written  for  him  by  J.  E. 
Brown,  of  Boston,  especially  to  display  his 


258  Famous  Actors. 

peculiar  abilities  as  a  character  impersona- 
tor and  entertainer,  Mr.  Russell's  specialties 
being  made  a  prominent  feature. 

"  I  organised  the  best  company,  in  the 
way  of  support,  that  I  could  gather,  includ- 
ing several  members  of  Wallack's  stock  com- 
pany," said  Mr.  Russell.  "  I  made  a  great 
effort,  looking  to  splendid  success.  Our 
company  played  thirty-eight  weeks  with 
varying  fortunes ;  indeed,  with  small  lustre 
and  little  profit.  But  the  following  season 
was  good ;  the  third  better  still,  and,  at  the 
end  of  the  fifth  year  the  play  in  question  — 
1  Edgewood  Folks  '  —  had  made  my  reputa- 
tion as  a  'drawing'  star." 

Then  on  the  retirement  of  William  War- 
ren in  1885  from  the  Boston  Museum,  Mr. 
Russell  succeeded  him  as  leading  comedian, 
but  in  1886  he  resumed  his  starring  tours, 
bringing  out  "Felix  McKusick,"  by  J.  E. 
Brown.  In  1887  he  produced  "Pa;"  in 
1887  "Bewitched,"  by  Edward  Kidder;  in 


Sol  Smith  Russell.  259 

1889  "A  Poor  Relation,"  by  the  same 
author;  "The  Tale  of  a  Coat,"  by  Dion 
Boucicault,  in  1890.  Since  then  "Peaceful 
Valley,"  "April  Weather,"  a  revival  of  "The 
Heir-at-Law,"  "A  Bachelor's  Romance,"  and 
"  Hon.  John  Grigsby "  have  shown  him  at 
his  best.  Mr.  Russell's  home  is  in  Minneap- 
olis, and  his  wife  is  the  daughter  of  the  late 
William  T.  Adams,  known  to  boy  readers  as 
"Oliver  Optic." 


CHAPTER    XX. 

OTIS    SKINNER. 

OTIS  SKINNER  has  a  vivacious  and  attract- 
ive personality,  and  is  splendidly  endowed 
physically ;  his  face  is  handsome,  and  his 
figure  is  well-knit  and  athletic.  He  is  artis- 
tic in  his  tastes,  and  intellectually  he  is  the 
equal  of  any  person  on  the  American  stage. 
Yet,  with  all  these  advantages,  I  do  not  think 
that  Mr.  Skinner  is  a  born  actor ;  I  do  not 
think  that  he  has  a  strong  dramatic  instinct. 
His  art  is  not  intuitive,  and  the  effects  he 
produces  are  the  results  of  hard  study  and 
pain  staking  effort.  Personally,  I  would  rather 
see  Mr.  Skinner  act  than  I  would  a  num- 
ber of  others  whose  financial  and  popular  suc- 
cess has  been  greater  than  his.  I  admire 
260 


OTIS    SKINNER 
As  Shylock  in  "  The  Merchant  of  Venice. 


4*      «  »  »)«>* 


Otis  Skinner.  261 

his  intelligence ;  I  like  his  method ;  and  I 
enjoy  watching  him.  Where  he  fails,  I  am 
convinced,  is  in  simulating  spontaneity,  and 
this  accounts,  it  seems  to  me,  for  his  unsuc- 
cessful attempt  several  seasons  ago  perma- 
nently to  establish  himself  as  a  producer  of 
the  better  class  of  plays. 

Mr.  Skinner's  stage  training  has  been  of 
the  most  thorough  description.  He  is  a 
capable  exponent  of  Shakespeare ;  as  a  ro- 
mantic actor  he  stands  well  to  the  fore  in 
this  country  ;  his  success  last  year  in  "  Rose- 
mary "  —  perhaps  the  greatest  popular  hit  he 
has  ever  made  —  gives  him  rank  as  a  come- 
dian. Here  is  versatility  to  an  unusual 
degree,  and  versatility,  moreover,  that  has 
been  tested,  that  is  real  and  genuine.  His 
sincerity  is  never  to  be  questioned,  and  his 
conscientiousness  is  superb.  An  excellent 
criticism  from  the  Chicago  Chronicle  of  Mr. 
Skinner's  Shylock  treats  fairly  of  the  actor's 
virtues  and  faults  as  they  are  manifested  in 


262  Famous  Actors. 

this  particular  role,  and,  it  may  be  added, 
these  virtues  and  faults  are  found  in  other 
of  Mr.  Skinner's  characters. 

"Mr.  Skinner  represents  Shylock  with 
remarkable  moderation  in  the  matter  of  ac- 
tion and  speech.  We  know  of  no  one  else 
so  temperate  in  these  particulars.  He  is  not 
by  any  means  commonplace,  however.  In 
giving  to  the  character  a  familiar  manner  and 
a  colloquial  style,  with  the  purpose  to  create 
an  artistic  naturalism,  he  is  careful  to  pre- 
serve a  poetic  quality  that  keeps  his  work  on 
the  plane  of  classic  art.  He  depends  upon 
intensity  for  the  right  expression  of  the  spirit 
of  the  Jew ;  and  is  rather  more  interested,  it 
would  seem,  in  perfecting  a  rational  and  con- 
sistent view  of  Shylock  as  a  type  than  in 
revealing  the  passionate,  vehement  emotion 
of  a  particular  and  vindictive  man.  Mr. 
Skinner  may  not  claim  to  be  the  first  actor 
to  deal  with  Shylock  as  a  normal  creature, 
one  in  whom  are  the  attributes  and  proper- 


Otis  Skinner.  263 

ties  of  heart  and  mind  common  to  men  who 
cherish  affection,  resent  injustice,  and  would 
avenge  wrong,  but  it  can  be  said  of  him  that 
he  keeps  more  within  the  bounds  of  proba- 
bility, the  circumstances  of  Shylock's  life 
considered,  than  any  actor  who  has  seen  fit 
to  regard  Shakespeare's  Jew  as  something 
better  and  finer  than  a  vulgar  usurer  and 
merely  malevolent  seeker  after  revenge 
against  one  who  has  hindered  him  of  bar- 
gains. 

"The  Shylock  Mr.  Skinner  shows  to  us  is 
such  a  man  as,  under  favouring  conditions, 
might  have  achieved  distinction  in  some  hon- 
ourable calling;  a  man  of  good  presence, 
self-respect,  and  pride,  educated  and  of  sound 
understanding,  qualified  to  be  a  leader.  A 
shrewd,  successful  business  man  it  is,  making 
the  best  of  the  only  calling  other  than  that 
of  medicine  permitted  to  him ;  sordid,  not 
because  he  loves  money,  but  because  he 
knows  it  to  be  the  only  defence  he  has 


264  Famous  Actors. 

against  his  enemies,  perceiving  gold  to  be, 
as  Shelley  happily  styled  it,  an  old  man's 
sword,  certainly  the  buckler  and  security  of 
the  Jew  at  a  time  when  he  is  compelled  by 
law  to  wear  the  badge  of  sufferance,  the 
yellow  or  red  hat  that  Venice  put  upon  a 
despised  race  tolerated  in  her  midst. 

"  Thus  far  Mr.  Skinner  is  only  in  the  -for- 
mative period  of  his  work,  getting  his  concep- 
tion into  substance  that  may  be  perfected 
by  repeated  touches  and  corrections  in  prac- 
tice. He  lacks  much  of  the  subtilty  that  is 
more  necessary  in  these  quiet,  thoughtful 
interpretations  that  the  artist  would  substi- 
tute for  the  energised  passion  of  dramatic 
utterance  and  action  with  which  we  are 
somewhat  too  well  acquainted.  He  has  not 
mastered  the  part  even  in  accordance  with 
his  own  conception,  and  in  the  original  busi- 
ness he  introduces  he  sometimes  goes  amiss, 
either  through  falling  short  of  or  exceeding 
the  demands  of  the  occasion.  For  example, 


Otis  Skinner.  265 

business,  the  introduction  of  which  requires 
the  actor  to  supplement  the  text  with  words 
of  his  own,  is,  in  standard  classic  perform- 
ances, invariably  inelegant  and  inartistic,  and 
can  only  serve  to  throw  the  action  out  of 
key. 

"Mr.  Skinner  has  not  yet  made  a  com- 
manding picture  of  the  trial  scene,  in  which 
he  is  less  original  than  elsewhere.  He  clings 
to  much  of  the  old  melodramatic  business, 
as  in  the  whetting  of  the  knife,  which  he 
makes  laboriously  deliberate  instead  of  hav- 
ing it  an  incidental,  casual  bit  of  business. 
An  intelligent  student  of  Shakespeare  has 
expressed  the  opinion  that  Shy  lock  should 
be  seated,  and,  his  legs  being  crossed,  should 
stroke  his  knife  on  the  leather  of  his  shoe 
in  that  semi-preoccupied  way  so  frequently 
noted  in  real  life.  There  is  not  actual 
sharpening ;  be  sure  that  Shylock  has  seen 
to  it  that  his  knife's  edge  be  in  readiness 
for  its  office.  Taken  as  a  whole,  however, 


266  Famous  Actors. 

Mr.  Skinner's  performance  is  interesting  and 
full  of  intelligence,  promising  well  for  the 
future." 

Otis  Skinner  was  born  on  June  28,  1857, 
in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts.  His  father 
is  the  Rev.  Charles  A.  Skinner,  a  Univer- 
salist  minister,  and  at  that  time  in  charge  of 
the  First  Universalist  Church  of  Cambridge, 
and  now  of  Somerville.  One  of  Otis  Skin- 
ner's brothers  is  Charles  M.  Skinner,  of 
Brooklyn,  prominent  as  an  author,  play- 
right,  and  dramatic  critic.  Otis  Skinner's 
taste  for  the  drama  was  inherited  both 
from  his  father  and  his  mother,  from  his 
mother  particularly,  for  she  was  a  woman 
of  poetic  temperament,  refined  taste,  and 
artistic  impressibility.  Mr.  Skinner  was  ed- 
ucated in  Hartford,  Connecticut,  and  after 
leaving  school  he  became  a  clerk  in  a  com- 
mission house  in  that  city,  intending  to 
learn  the  business.  On  a  visit  to  New 
York,  however,  he  saw  "  The  Hunchback  of 


Otis  Skinner.  267 

Notre  Dame"  acted  at  the  old  Lyceum, 
now  the  Fourteenth  Street  Theatre,  and 
this  turned  his  attention  toward  the  stage. 
His  first  efforts  were  directed  to  organising 
a  dramatic  company  among  his  friends,  and 
for  a  year  this  company  appeared  spasmodi- 
cally in  small  towns  in  what  was  termed  a 
"  Dramatic,  Musical,  and  Literary  Entertain- 
ment." 

Then  Mr.  Skinner  secured  his  father's 
consent  to  try  the  professional  stage.  But 
his  father  did  more  for  him  than  that.  He 
obtained  for  his  son  from  P.  T.  Barnum, 
the  showman,  who  was  also  a  Universalist, 
a  letter  of  introduction  to  William  Davidge, 
Jr.,  the  manager  of  Wood's  Museum  in 
Philadelphia,  and  there,  on  October  30, 
1877,  Otis  Skinner  made  his  ddbut  as  Old 
Plantation,  an  aged  negro,  in  a  rural  play 
called  "Woodleigh."  His  salary  was  eight 
dollars  a  week  when  the  business  was  good, 
and  nothing  when  it  was  bad.  It  happened 


268  Famous  Actors. 

to  be  bad  most  of  that  winter,  and  the 
neophyte  was  obliged  to  tide  over  some 
weeks  with  money  procured  by  pawning  his 
books.  He  stuck  to  the  company,  however, 
which  was  more  than  the  older  actors  did, 
and  the  result  was  that  before  long  he  was 
playing  important  parts.  During  the  sum- 
mer he  acted  in  the  stock  company  of  the 
Chestnut  Street  Theatre,  of  which  William 
E.  Sheridan  was  leading  man  and  Louis 
James  a  member,  and  the  following  fall  he 
joined  the  Walnut  Street  Theatre  stock 
company,  where  he  supported  such  stars  as 
Lawrence  Barrett,  John  McCullough,  Mary 
Anderson,  John  T.  Raymond,  and  Madame 
Janauschek. 

"  How  she  frightened  me  one  night ! " 
remarked  Mr.  Skinner,  recalling  his  expe- 
riences in  Philadelphia.  "The  play  was 
'  Macbeth,'  and  I  was  given  the  part  of  Sey- 
ton.  We  had  been  very  carefully  rehearsed, 
and  I  was  letter  perfect.  In  those  days 


Otis  Skinner.  269 

Janauschek  was  magnificent.  In  her  pas- 
sionate scenes  you  could  see  the  fire  flash 
from  her  eyes.  I  had  to  announce  the 
arrival  of  the  king,  and  did  so  before  I  re- 
ceived my  cue.  Madame  gave  me  my  cue 
at  the  proper  time,  but,  realising  the  mis- 
take I  had  made,  the  lines  fled,  and  I  was 
speechless.  I  could  feel  the  lightning  flash 
from  her  eyes,  and  waited  for  the  explosion 
with  a  very  sinking  heart.  Fortunately,  it 
did  not  come. 

"The  first  time  that  I  really  stuck  in  my 
lines  was  with  John  McCullough.  He  was 
playing  '  Coriolanus,'  and  I  had  the  very 
minor  part  of  a  Roman  general.  We  had 
played  the  piece  several  nights,  and  every- 
thing went  well  until  the  night  in  question. 
It  was  during  the  scene  I  had  with  McCul- 
lough, and  my  lines  went  completely  out  of 
my  head.  I  could  think  of  nothing.  I  was 
terrified.  The  stage  seemed  to  whirl  around 
me.  McCullough  picked  up  my  lines  and 


270  Famous  Actors. 

finished  the  scene.  When  I  went  off  I  felt 
as  if  I  had  committed  some  awful  crime. 
This  feeling  gave  way  to  a  sense  of  the 
keenest  shame,  which  was,  in  turn,  suc- 
ceeded by  anger.  I  was  fearfully  angry, 
and  the  hot  tears  were  streaming  down  my 
face.  Suddenly  I  felt  a  hand  on  my  shoul- 
der, and  heard  the  great  actor  say,  in  the 
kindest  tone  :  '  Feeling  badly,  my  boy  ?  Don't 
mind  it  a  bit.  Accidents  will  happen  to  the 
best  of  us.' " 

The  next  season  Mr.  Skinner  spent  in 
New  York,  appearing  first  at  Niblo's  with 
the  Kiralfys  in  "  Enchantment."  Later  he 
was  in  "  Hearts  of  Steel,"  and  for  a  few 
weeks  with  Colonel  Sinn  in  Brooklyn.  Then 
he  played  a  short  season  with  Edwin  Booth 
at  Booth's  Theatre,  making  a  success  as 
Frangois  in  "  Richelieu."  During  the  season 
of  1 8  80-8 1  Mr.  Skinner  was  a  member  of 
the  Boston  Theatre  Company,  first  appearing 
on  October  26th  as  Lord  Glenaroon  in  "  Voy- 


Otis  Skinner.  271 

agers  in  Southern  Seas."  In  the  cast  were 
Frank  Lawler,  Dan  Maguinniss,  Mark  Price, 
C.  Leslie  Allen,  John  T.  Craven,  Seth 
Springer,  E.  Y.  Backus,  Mrs.  Pennoyer,  and 
Rachel  Noah.  Two  children  also  appeared 
in  the  play,  and  one  of  them  was  Harry 
Woodruff,  who  was  last  season  with  the 
New  York  Lyceum  Theatre  Company.  After 
leaving  the  Boston  Theatre  Mr.  Skinner 
became  leading  man  for  Lawrence  Barrett, 
with  whom  he  remained  for  three  seasons, 
acting  Marc  Antony,  Edmond  in  "Yorick's 
Love,"  Laertes,  Cassio,  Gratiano,  and  Paolo 
in  "  Francesca  da  Rimini."  Five  years  with 
Augustin  Daly's  company  followed,  during 
which  time  Mr.  Skinner  made  three  trips 
to  Europe  with  the  organisation.  He  made 
his  first  appearance  at  Daly's  in  November, 
1884,  in  "The  Wooden  Spoon,"  and  a  new 
member  of  the  company  that  same  night  was 
Edith  Kingdon,  who  afterward  became  Mrs. 
George  Gould. 


272  Famous  Actors. 

During  the  summer  of  1889  Mr.  Skinner 
produced  at  the  Grand  Opera  House,  Chi- 
cago, "  The  Red  Signal,"  which  was  by  him- 
self and  his  brother  Charles,  and  that  fall 
he  became  leading  man  for  Edwin  Booth 
and  Helena  Modjeska,  assuming  the  roles 
of  De  Mauprat,  Laertes,  Del  A'Quilla,  Don 
Caesar,  Mortimer,  Petruchio,  Bassanio,  and 
Macduff. 

"It  was  one  of  the  pleasantest  engage- 
ments I  ever  had,"  said  Mr.  Skinner,  "for 
both  Mr.  Booth  and  Madame  Modjeska  were 
charming  persons  to  be  associated  with.  It 
was  during  this  engagement  that  I  nearly 
killed  Mr.  Booth.  We  were  playing  'Mac- 
beth,' Mr.  Booth  acting  the  king  and  I 
Macduff.  You  remember  the  scene  in  the 
last  act  where  Macduff  rushes  on,  crying  to 
the  king,  '  Turn,  hell-hound,  turn ! '  and 
forces  him  to  combat.  Mr.  Booth  was  grow- 
ing weaker,  and,  although  an  accomplished 
swordsman,  had  little  strength  in  his  guard. 


Otis  Skinner.  273 

In  the  nervousness  of  the  first  performance 
I  rushed  on,  crying  the  lines,  and  brought 
my  blade  down  with  a  crashing  blow  square 
at  his  head.  He  held  up  his  sword,  but  as 
the  two  weapons  struck  mine  broke  through 
his  guard  and  struck  him  with  great  force 
on  the  head.  Had  he  not  worn  a  very  heavy 
wig,  and  about  his  head  a  circlet  of  iron,  the 
blow  would  have  certainly  killed  him.  As  it 
was,  he  was  stunned  for  a  moment,  and  after 
the  act,  when  he  took  off  his  wig  and  circlet, 
there  was  a  tremendous  bump  where  my 
sword  had  struck.  The  weapons,  by  the 
way,  were  heavy  combat  swords,  and  are  now 
in  my  possession." 

At  the  end  of  the  Booth-Mod] eska  season 
Mr.  Skinner  went  to  London,  where  for  eight 
weeks  he  played  Romeo  in  a  production  of 
"  Romeo  and  Juliet "  at  the  Globe  Theatre. 
Two  seasons  with  Margaret  Mather  followed, 
Mr.  Skinner  appearing  as  La  Hire,  Rudolph, 
Romeo,  and  similar  characters.  During  the 


274  Famous  Actors. 

season  of  1892-93  he  was  leading  man  with 
Modjeska,  and  the  next  season  he  remained 
with  her  as  joint  star.  Besides  appearing 
as  Macbeth  and  Shylock  and  in  other  r61es 
in  the  Modjeska  repertory,  such  as  Leices- 
ter in  "Mary  Stuart,"  Armand  in  "  Camille," 
and  Orlando  in  "As  You  Like  It,"  Mr. 
Skinner  created  in  this  country  the  character 
of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Schwartz  in  Herman 
Sudermann's  "  Magda."  It  did  not  prove 
to  be  one  of  his  best  parts,  however.  In  the 
fall  of  1894  Mr.  Skinner  became  a  star, 
opening  at  Chicago  in  September  in  a  ro- 
mantic drama  by  Clyde  Fitch,  "His  Grace 
de  Grammont."  Later  he  produced  "The 
King's  Jester,"  an  adaptation  by  Charles 
Skinner  from  Victor  Hugo's  "  Le  Roi 
S' Amuse,"  and  "Villon,  the  Vagabond," 
a  play  by  Charles  Skinner. 

Every  dramatic  season  has  its  climax. 
This  climax  of  the  season  of  1895-96  in  this 
country  came  when  Mr.  Skinner  played 


Otis  Skinner.  275 

"  Hamlet "  in  Chicago.  When  Modjeska 
was  taken  ill  in  Cincinnati,  Mr.  Skinner  was 
in  the  wearying  monotony  of  one-night  stands 
in  Indiana.  With  no  notice  whatever,  he 
was  thrust  before  the  Chicago  public  on 
the  stage  of  the  Grand  Opera  House,  an 
emergency  attraction  to  fill  Modjeska' s  time. 
Then  came  the  suggestion  that  he  try 
"  Hamlet."  Walker  Whiteside,  well  known 
and  much  admired  in  the  West,  was  pre- 
senting the  same  character  in  another 
theatre,  and  Creston  Clarke  was  announced 
in  the  same  r61e  for  the  following  week. 
Mr.  Skinner  protested.  He  had  only  played 
Hamlet  four  times,  he  explained,  and  that 
in  far-away  places.  Besides,  he  had  no 
scenery.  "  Hamlet  "  it  must  be,  however, 
and  the  rehearsals  began,  a  ridiculous  stage 
setting  being  provided  by  the  theatre. 

On  the  first  Tuesday  night  of  his  engage- 
ment he  presented  his  characterisation  of  the 
Danish  Prince.  The  house  was  small,  but 


276  Famous  Actors. 

the  critics  were  out  in  full  force.  Before 
two  acts  had  passed,  Mr.  Skinner  had  won. 
His  success  was  marvellous.  Every  paper 
in  the  city  sang  his  praises.  Again  and  again 
during  the  remainder  of  his  two  weeks'  stay 
he  repeated  his  first  triumph,  but  no  longer 
to  empty  benches.  The  house  held  audi- 
ences that  had  not  been  duplicated  since 
Edwin  Booth  and  Lawrence  Barrett  were 
the  stars.  The  romantic  Hamlet  was  what 
Chicago  writers  termed  Mr.  Skinner's  imper- 
sonation. Again  they  accentuated  its  hu- 
manity and  its  sincerity.  There  was  no 
artificial  air,  no  affected  accent,  no  elocu- 
tionary trick. 

Last  season  Mr.  Skinner  was  a  member  of 
Joseph  Jefferson's  company  until  the  veteran 
was  compelled  to  close  his  season  because  of 
illness.  Then  Mr.  Skinner  starred  with  suc- 
cess through  the  South  and  West  in  "  Rose- 
mary." In  April,  1895,  Mr.  Skinner  married 
Miss  Maud  Durbin,  who  had  been  associated 


Otis  Skinner.  277 

with  him  professionally  for  several  seasons. 
In  June  of  that  same  year  he  was  given  the 
honorary  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  by  Tufts 
College. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

J.    E.    DODSON. 

J.  E.  DODSON  is  one  of  the  finest  charac- 
ter actors  on  the  English-speaking  stage. 
He  is  a  Londoner  by  birth,  and  although  he 
came  to  this  country  only  ten  years  ago, 
after  a  stage  experience  of  over  fifteen 
years'  duration,  he  is  comparatively  un- 
known in  the  British  theatrical  centre.  Mr. 
Dodson's  training  was  confined  entirely  to 
the  provinces.  It  is  curious  that  this  fine 
English  actor  should  have  remained  practi- 
cally unrecognised  until  he  came  to  the 
United  States  with  the  Kendals.  Fate, 
apparently,  conspired  to  keep  Mr.  Dodson 
out  of  London.  When  he  first  went  on  the 
stage,  in  the  seventies,  he  resolved  not  to 
278 


J.    E.    DODSON 
As  John  Weathersby  in  "  Because  She  Loved  Him  So. 


J.  E.  Dodson.  279 

appear  in  London  until  he  could  act  a  first- 
class  character  in  a  first-class  theatre  with  a 
first-class  company.  In  1885,  while  he  was 
playing  the  Hon.  Vere  Queckett  in  "The 
Schoolmistress,"  John  Clayton  saw  him,  and 
engaged  him  to  appear  as  Mr.  Posket  in 
"The  Magistrate."  Mr.  Dodson's  work  in 
that  character  pleased  Mr.  Clayton  so  much 
that  he  made  arrangements  for  Mr.  Dodson 
to  present  Arthur  Cecil's  roles  for  two 
years  at  the  Court  Theatre,  London.  Mr. 
Clayton's  death  in  1888  frustrated  these 
plans,  and  in  1889  Mr.  Dodson  joined  the 
Kendals.  He  came  with  them  to  the  United 
States,  and  after  that  visit,  in  1893,  he  made 
his  de*but  in  London  while  still  a  member 
of  the  Kendals'  company. 

Mr.  Dodson  was  one  of  last  season's  great 
successes  in  the  old  man  character  of  John 
Weatherby  in  the  bright  little  farce,  "Be- 
cause She  Loved  Him  So."  Mr.  Dodson 
always  had  a  genius  for  makeup,  but  in  this 


280  Famous  Actors. 

part  he  fairly  outdid  himself.  Not  only  was 
the  face  perfect,  denoting  in  every  line  benign 
old  age,  but  the  imitation  was  carried  into 
the  stooping  shoulders  and  into  the  walk, 
which  had  a  hint  of  a  shuffle  and  just  a 
touch  of  feebleness.  No  one  that  saw  Mr. 
Dodson  on  the  stage  would  take  him  for  a 
sprightly  man  of  forty-two  years,  who,  how- 
ever, does  not  begin  to  look  his  age.  Mr. 
Dodson's  assumption  of  old  age  did  not  end 
with  mere  physical  imitation.  His  mental 
conception  was  equally  as  true  to  life,  and 
the  part  was  played  with  a  zest,  a  rich  hu- 
mour, and  a  finish  that  could  hardly  have 
been  bettered. 

Mr.  Dodson  was  born  in  1857.  He  was 
originally  intended  for  the  bar,  but  after 
studying  law  for  six  months  he  decided  that 
the  stage  would  suit  him  better.  He  had 
had  a  little  amateur  experience  before  he 
made  his  professional  de"but  in  1877  at  the 
Princess  Theatre,  Manchester,  which  was 


/.  E.  Dodson.  281 

under  the  management  of  Boston  Browne, 
a  wealthy  American.  Augustus  Harris  was 
the  stage-manager.  Mr.  Dodson's  first  part 
was  in  "The  Spelling  Bee,"  in  which  J.  L. 
Toole  was  starring.  Mr.  Dodson  remained 
in  Manchester  for  two  years,  and  between 
the  seasons  he  went  to  Paignton  in  Devon- 
shire to  play  juvenile  leads,  such  parts  as 
Pygmalion,  Claude  Melnotte,  and  Bob  Brierly. 
He  could  not  have  been  startlingly  success- 
ful, for  Edward  Terry  advised  him  to  make 
a  specialty  of  character  and  comedy  parts. 
And  Mr.  Dodson  had  the  wit  to  follow  the 
advice. 

At  the  Theatre  Royal  and  Gaiety  The- 
atre, Dublin,  both  under  the  management  of 
Michael  Gunn,  Mr.  Dodson  played  second 
low  comedy  parts.  Engagements  in  Liv- 
erpool, Glasgow,  and  Edinburgh  followed, 
and  then  he  was  secured  by  T.  C.  King 
as  first  low  comedian  of  the  Royal  Theatre, 
Worcester. 


282  Famous  Actors. 

"  I  assumed  my  histrionic  duties  with  fear 
and  trembling,"  Mr.  Dodson  remarked,  "and 
in  the  course  of  the  season  appeared  in  an 
exclusive  round  of  old  comedy,  Shakespearian 
and  modern  roles.  In  fact,  I  had  the  good 
luck  to  become  quite  a  local  favourite,  and 
was  tendered  a  benefit  at  the  end  of  the 
season.  During  the  Christmas  holidays  I 
was  cast  as  the  comedy  old  woman  in  the 
pantomime  of  <  Jack  and  Gill.'  " 

Subsequently  Mr.  Dodson  acted  at  Bath, 
Aberdeen,  Dundee,  Greenock,  and  appeared 
again  in  Edinburgh  in  both  pantomime  and 
drama.  He  supported  Joseph  Jefferson  in 
"Rip  Van  Winkle"  and  J.  K.  Emmett  in 
"Fritz."  He  travelled  with  W.  Calder  in 
"The  White  Slave."  He  was  the  origi- 
nal Carraway  Bones  in  "Turned  Up,"  in 
Glasgow,  and  the  original  Professor  in 
"Kleptomania."  He  played  the  dual  rdle 
in  J.  Derrick's  "Twins."  He  toured  with 
Clayton  and  Cecil's  company  for  two  years, 


/.  E.  Dodson.  283 

and    in     1889     he    joined     Mr.    and     Mrs. 
Kendal. 

"  I  played  in  « Rip  Van  Winkle '  with 
Joseph  Jefferson  for  five  or  six  weeks,"  said 
Mr.  Dodson,  "and  with  Emmett  I  played 
Snow,  the  negro,  in  '  Fritz '  for  four  months 
in  the  provinces.  Emmett  was  a  wonder- 
fully magnetic  actor.  He  crowded  the  houses 
everywhere.  While  I  was  with  him  he  never 
would  take  an  encore  for  a  song,  no  matter 
how  persistent  the  applause.  He  was  opposed 
to  encores  on  the  ground  that  any  persons  in 
the  audience  who  were  bent  on  hearing  the 
song  a  second  time  could  come  again  the  fol- 
lowing night.  Another  peculiarity  of  Emmett 
was  that  he  would  never  allow  long  waits 
between  the  acts.  He  maintained  that  the 
people  came  to  see  the  performance,  and  that 
the  scenic  setting  was  of  minor  considera- 
tion. So  he'd  have  the  curtain  rung  up  on 
time,  no  matter  whether  the  setting  was 
completed  or  not. 


284  Famous  Actors. 

"  During  a  tour  with  James  Buchanan  in 
1  It's  Never  Too  Late  to  Mend,'  I  played 
Jackey  and  afterward  Peter  Crawley.  I  also 
played  a  negro  part  in  a  revival  of  '  Black 
and  White,'  which  Wilkie  Collins  wrote  for 
Charles  Fechter,  and  I  took  part  in  the 
provincial  production  of  a  piece  by  Arthur 
Sketchley,  called  'Craft.'  I  looked  for- 
ward to  playing  Carraway  Bones  in  Lon- 
don, but  Willie  Edouin  decided  to  act  it 
himself  there,  so  that  was  another  time 
that  I  was  disappointed  in  my  London  as- 
pirations." 

Mr.  Dodson  tells  this  amusing  experience 
that  he  had  with  a  portion  of  his  makeup 
during  the  first  performance  of  "Turned 
Up  "  in  Glasgow  : 

"In  order  to  give  Carraway  Bones  the 
requisite  facial  eccentricity,  I  was  in  the 
habit  of  enlarging  my  nose.  In  the  second 
act  I  had  to  make  a  precipitate  fall  through 
a  thatched  roof,  which  caused  considerable 


/.  E.  Dodson.  285 

damage  to  my  facial  enlargement.  My  fall 
brought  down  the  house,  and  as  that  was  the 
first  night  the  manager  was  so  delighted  with 
the  success  of  the  scene  that  he  came  to  my 
dressing-room  and  opened  a  bottle  of  cham- 
pagne. Consequently  I  had  no  time  properly 
to  adjust  my  false  nose  before  going  on  for 
the  next  scene.  That  was  a  fatal  mistake, 
because  Captain  Medway,  according  to  stage 
directions,  had  to  shake  the  life  out  of  Carra- 
way  Bones,  and  Bones  had  to  shake  his  head 
violently  to  make  the  shaking  seem  extra 
vigorous.  These  directions  were  faithfully 
carried  out,  so  much  so  that  the  artificial 
portion  of  my  nose  flew  over  my  head,  which 
nearly  sent  the  audience  into  convulsions. 
We  received  a  call  after  the  scene,  and,  in 
response  to  some  chaff  from  the  gallery,  I 
assured  the  audience  that  my  nose  always 
peeled  in  hot  weather." 

Mr.  Dodson  was  for  five  years  the  charac- 
ter comedian  of  the  Kendals'  company,  and 


286  Famous  Actors. 

it  was  in  the  course  of  their  American  tours 
that  he  achieved  his  great  popularity  in  this 
country.  He  appeared  in  a  number  of  char- 
acters originated  by  John  Hare,  as  well  as 
several  created  by  himself.  His  parts  were 
Baron  Montrichard  in  "  The  Ladies'  Battle," 
Radford  in  "All  for  Her,"  Penguin  in  "A 
Scrap  of  Paper,"  Moulinet  in  "The  Iron 
Master,"  Sam  and  the  Colonel  in  "The 
Queen's  Shilling,"  Gunnion  in  "The  Squire," 
Baron  Croodle  in  "The  Money  Spinner," 
Cayley  Drummie  in  "  The  Second  Mrs.  Tan- 
queray,"  Mr.  Bargus,  M.P.,  in  "  The  Weaker 
Sex,"  Hoel  Brinnilow  in  "  Katherine  Kava- 
nagh,"  Mr.  Barker"  in  "Uncle's  Will,"  Al- 
fred Hart  in  "  It  Was  a  Dream,"  Potter  in 
"  Still  Waters  Run  Deep,"  Captain  Mount- 
raffe  in  "Home,"  and  the  title  role  in  "The 
Disciple." 

Mr.  Dodson's  best  known  characters  since 
he  came  under  Charles  Frohman's  manage- 
ment five  years  ago  have  been  Matthew 


/.  E.  Dodson.  287 

Keber  in  "The  Bauble  Shop,"  Montague 
Lushington  in  "The  Masqueraders,"  and 
the  Rev.  Stephen  Wynn  in  "John-a- 
Dreams." 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

ROBERT    B.    MANTELL. 

IT  was  in  the  early  eighties  that  Fanny 
Davenport  produced  Victorien  Sardou's 
drama,  "F&iora,"  at  the  Fourteenth  Street 
Theatre  in  New  York.  This  play  was  origi- 
nally written  for  Sarah  Bernhardt,  who  made 
an  extraordinary  impression  in  the  title  role. 
It  was  also  the  first  of  that  series  of  dramas, 
which  included  "La  Tosca,"  "Cleopatra," 
and  "  Gismonda,"  in  which  the  French  dram- 
atist, a  master  of  the  mechanics  of  play 
building,  depicted  with  wonderful  theatric 
intensity  womankind  swayed  by  barbaric 
passion.  These  plays  depended  entirely  for 

effect  on  the  most  harrowing  situations,  de- 
288 


ROBERT    B.    MANTELL 
In  "  The  Corsican  Brothers." 


AH^v^'T'Si  l/'W 


Robert  B.  Mantell.  289 

veloped  by  the  author  with  remarkable  in- 
genuity. They  were  not  in  any  sense  related 
to  the  higher  class  of  the  drama,  which  re- 
gards the  development  and  study  of  charac- 
ter as  the  prime  essential  in  a  dramatic  work. 
Yet  these  Sardou's  plays  were  so  cunningly 
wrought  that  the  right  kind  of  actor  found 
them  exceptionally  good  vehicles  for  the  con- 
veyance of  striking  dramatic  impressions. 

"  Fddora "  was  new  to  this  country  when 
Fanny  Davenport  brought  it  out,  and,  more- 
over, the  theatre-going  public  of  those  days, 
comparatively  unaccustomed  to  the  refined 
form  of  the  mechanical  drama,  was  in  just 
the  proper  condition  to  be  carried  completely 
out  of  itself  by  the  crafty  Sardou.  It  was 
not  surprising,  therefore,  that  "  Fedora  "  was 
pronounced  a  great  play,  and  that  Fanny 
Davenport,  already  an  accomplished  and 
popular  actress,  was  accorded  high  rank  as 
a  dramatic  artist.  But  it  was  not  "  Fedora" 
nor  Miss  Davenport  that  made  the  occasion 


290  Famous  Actors. 

of  the  play's  first  production  in  this  country 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  on  record.  The 
credit  for  that  belongs  to  Robert  B.  Mantell, 
who,  up  to  the  moment  that  he  made  his 
entrance  as  Loris  Ipanoff  in  the  middle  of 
the  second  act,  was  almost  unknown.  To 
be  sure,  he  had  been  on  the  stage  for  twelve 
years  and  had  acted  in  the  United  States  for 
several  seasons,  but  until  he  played  Loris  he 
was  merely  one  of  the  thousands. 

That  scene  in  the  second  act  of  "  Fedora  " 
is  now  a  familiar  one.  Loris  enters  quietly 
with  a  number  of  others,  and  attention  is  not 
directed  toward  him  until  he  begins  to  tell 
the  story  of  the  murder.  The  effect  that  Mr. 
Mantell  made  by  this  recitation  is  vividly  re- 
membered by  those  that  witnessed  the  scene. 
Men  trembled  and  women  grew  white  with 
emotion.  As  the  play  progressed  he  swayed 
the  house  with  the  brilliancy  and  potency  of 
his  acting,  until  it  seemed  as  if  the  limit 
of  human  endurance  were  reached.  There 


Robert  B.  Mantell.  291 

were  sobs  and  hysterical  laughter  from  an 
audience  that  was  fairly  beside  itself.  For- 
tunately, such  scenes  in  the  theatre  are  of 
rare  occurrence.  This  one  gave  Mr.  Man- 
tell  a  national  reputation,  and  established  him 
a  few  seasons  later  as  a  successful  star. 

Robert  Bruce  Mantell  was  born  in  Ayr- 
shire, Scotland,  on  February  7,  1854.  When 
he  was  four  years  old  his  parents  moved  to 
Belfast,  Ireland,  and  there  the  boy  grew  up 
and  figured  as  an  amateur  actor,  playing 
Polonius  in  "  Hamlet "  when  he  was  sixteen 
years  old.  Mr.  Mantell's  parents  were  not 
inclined  to  favour  his  desire  to  adopt  the 
stage  as  an  avocation,  and  accordingly  he 
ran  away  from  home.  His  theatrical  de"but 
was  made  in  Rockdale,  Lancashire,  England, 
in  1874,  as  the  Sergeant  in  Boucicault's 
"  Arrah-na-Pogue."  George  Clarke,  after- 
ward for  many  years  identified  with  the 
Augustin  Daly  Company,  was  the  star  of 
this  performance.  Later,  in  the  same  com- 


292  Famous  Actors. 

pany,  Mr.  Clarke  and  Mr.  Mantell  appeared 
together  in  "The  Shaughran,"  the  former 
acting  Conn,  and  the  latter  Father  Dolan. 
For  the  next  three  years  Mr.  Mantell  wan- 
dered through  the  British  provinces,  sup- 
porting such  eminent  players  as  Barry  Sul- 
livan, Charles  Mathews,  Dion  Boucicault, 
Charles  Calvert,  Miss  Marriott,  and  Samuel 
Phelps. 

Mr.  Mantell's  first  visit  to  the  United 
States  was  made  in  1875.  He  hoped  to 
get  an  engagement  at  the  Boston  Museum, 
but  being  unsuccessful  in  that  he  walked  the 
streets  of  Boston  for  ten  days,  and  then  in- 
vested what  money  he  had  left  in  a  return 
ticket  to  England.  In  1878  he  came  again 
and  joined  Modjeska's  company,  in  which  he 
acted  small  parts  for  a  season.  Next  he  was 
with  George  Knight,  playing  Catto  Dove  to 
Knight's  Buster  in  "  Forbidden  Fruit."  Then 
he  returned  to  England  and  became  leading 
man  for  Miss  Ellen  Wallis,  with  whom  he  re- 


Robert  B.  Mantell.  293 

mained  three  years,  appearing  in  Wills's  play, 
"The  Miron,"  "Romeo  and  Juliet,"  "Mac- 
beth," as  Benedick  in  "Much  Ado,"  Charles 
Surface  in  "The  School  for  Scandal,"  Young 
Mario w  in  "  She  Stoops  to  Conquer,"  Claude 
Paul  in  "  Paul  and  Virginia,"  lago,  and 
Othello.  He  also  played  Leicester  to  the 
Amy  Robsart  of  Marie  de  Gray. 

In  1883,  Mr.  Mantell  came  again  to  this 
country,  expecting  to  take  part  in  John  Stet- 
son's production  of  "  Romany  Rye."  There 
was  some  misunderstanding  about  his  en- 
gagement, however,  and  when  he  got  here 
he  found  his  position  in  the  company  already 
filled.  So  he  toured  the  States  with  a  com- 
pany that  was  presenting  "  The  World." 
Stetson  sent  for  him  later  on,  and  Mr. 
Mantell  took  the  part  in  "Romany  Rye," 
for  which  he  was  originally  engaged.  His 
great  success  with  Fanny  Davenport  fol- 
lowed. After  leaving  Miss  Davenport  he 
created  the  character  of  Gilbert  Vaughn  in 


294  Famous  Actors. 

Hugh  Conway's  "Called  Back."  The  play 
was  not  successful,  and  he  next  appeared  in 
"Dakolar,"  under  Daniel  Frohman's  manage- 
ment at  the  New  York  Lyceum  Theatre. 
Another  engagement  with  Fanny  Daven- 
port in  "Fedora"  ended  his  career  as  a 
leading  man. 

In  1885,  for  his  debut  as  a  star,  Mr.  Man- 
tell  produced  at  the  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre, 
New  York,  Mr.  Keller's  "Tangled  Lives," 
which  he  presented  that  season  throughout 
the  United  States.  "  Monbars "  was  his 
next  play,  and  that  was  followed  by  produc- 
tions of  "  The  Corsican  Brothers,"  "  Othello," 
"Hamlet,"  "The  Marble  Heart,"  "Romeo 
and  Juliet,"  "The  Lady  of  Lyons,"  "A  Les- 
son in  Acting,"  "The  Louisianian,"  "  Par- 
rhasius,"  "A  Face  in  the  Moonlight,"  "The 
Queen's  Garter,"  and  "The  Secret  Warrant." 

In  Shakespeare  Mr.  Mantell  is  remarkably 
successful  in  catching  the  popular  ear.  I 
saw  him  play  "  Othello  "  last  year  in  a  thea- 


Robert  B.  Mantell.  295 

tre  given  over  principally  to  second-class 
melodrama  and  boisterous  farce,  and  the  im- 
pression that  he  made  on  the  spectators,  who 
cared  nothing  for  Shakespeare  and  every- 
thing for  the  play,  was  remarkable.  The 
drama  was  given  with  the  most  ordinary 
scenery  and  the  most  meagre  of  stage  ac- 
cessories, and  it  was  astonishing  to  see  with 
what  raptness  the  audience  followed  the  de- 
velopment of  the  plot  and  how  quickly  it 
grasped  the  import  of  the  changing  situation. 
Mr.  Mantell's  art  is  not  always  refined,  nor 
is  his  self-restraint  absolute,  but  his  personal 
magnetism  is  great  and  his  appeal  to  his 
audience  direct  and  convincing.  He  did  not 
seem  to  get  into  the  spirit  of  Othello  at  first, 
and  his  reading  of  the  address  to  the  Duke, 
justifying  Othello's  marriage  to  Desdemona, 
was  artificial,  without  proper  dignity,  and 
altogether  disappointing.  In  the  scenes 
following  the  degradation  of  Cassius,  how- 
ever, Mr.  Mantell's  work  became  forceful. 


296  Famous  Actors. 

His  conception  of  the  character  broadened, 
and  he  set  forth  the  jealousy  and  mad  passion 
of  the  Moor  with  a  vividness  that  reacted 
tremendously  on  the  spectators. 


ROLAND    REED. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

ROLAND    REED. 

BLESSED  with  an  odd  personality  that  is 
irresistible  in  its  appeal  to  the  comic  sense, 
with  abundant  humour,  and  with  mobile  fea- 
tures that  of  themselves  suggest  fun  and 
laughter,  Roland  Reed  has  won  his  success 
on  the  stage  by  remaining  distinctly  himself. 
When  he  was  a  call-boy  at  the  Arch  Street 
Theatre  in  Philadelphia,  Mrs.  John  Drew 
once  said  to  him  :  "  You  will  make  a  come- 
dian. Your  nose,  if  nothing  else,  will  bring 
you  fame."  Mr.  Reed  has  little  or  no  gift 
of  impersonation,  but  he  has  the  ability  un- 
erringly to  adapt  every  character  that  he 
acts  to  his  own  limitations.  He  has  the 

quick,  breezy  firmness  of  touch  that  is  nec- 
297 


298  Famous  Actors. 

essary  to  a  farceur.  His  methods  are  broad 
and  open,  and  his  perception  of  the  ridic- 
ulous is  sure.  On  the  stage  he  is  never 
anything  but  Roland  Reed,  and  for  the  time 
being  no  one  wants  him  to  be  anything  else. 

Mr.  Reed's  nose  is  so  much  a  part  of  his 
theatrical  equipment  that  it  warrants  a  care- 
ful description.  To  be  sure,  it  is  not  as 
long  as  the  wax  one  that  Richard  Mansfield 
fastens  to  his  face  when  he  plays  Cyrano  de 
Bergerac,  but  Mr.  Reed's  is  large  enough 
for  all  practical  purposes,  so  large,  in  fact, 
that  he  cannot  always  escape  talking  through 
it.  "It  is  about  all  one  sees  of  his  face," 
is  the  way  one  man  put  it.  A  front  view 
photograph  of  Mr.  Reed  shows  nothing  es- 
pecially out  of  the  ordinary.  The  nose  is 
there,  of  course,  but,  comparatively  speaking, 
only  mildly.  One  must  catch  his  profile 
to  get  the  full  effect.  It  is  a  feature  as 
Roman  as  Julius  Caesar  himself. 

If   one   were   to   attempt  to  classify  Mr. 


Roland  Reed.  299 

Reed  he  would  perhaps  call  him  an  eccentric 
light  comedian ;  but  he  would  be  obliged  to 
add  that  Mr.  Reed's  comedy  always  has  a 
touch  of  caricature  and  always  suggests  a 
tendency  to  burlesque.  I  do  not  mean  to 
say  that  he  does  actually  burlesque,  but 
when  an  actor  has  purposely  divorced  him- 
self from  all  seriousness,  as  is  the  case  with 
Mr.  Reed,  the  temptation  to  overdo  the  thing 
a  little  bit,  for  the  sake  of  the  laugh  that  is 
sure  to  follow,  is  strong.  I  think  that  Mr. 
Reed  honestly  resists  this  temptation,  and, 
as  far  as  I  have  had  the  opportunity  to  judge, 
he  is  usually  successful. 

Mr.  Reed's  connection  with  the  stage  is 
hereditary.  His  father  was  John  Roland 
Reed,  who  was  connected  with  the  Walnut 
Street  Theatre,  Philadelphia,  for  fifty-six 
consecutive  years  as  actor  and  stage  me- 
chanic. His  services  began  in  1824,  when 
he  was  sixteen  years  old,  as  the  rider  of 
the  celebrated  stallion,  Lord  Nelson,  in  the 


3OO  Famous  Actors. 

"grand  entree"  that  preceded  a  circus  per- 
formance which  was  being  given  in  the 
theatre.  After  that  he  was  the  dragon 
in  a  production  called  "  St.  George  and  the 
Dragon."  Next  he  was  employed  to  care 
for  the  lights  of  the  theatre,  and  from  that 
he  worked  into  the  position  of  gas  man 
after  the  use  of  oil  was  discontinued  in  play- 
houses. After  leaving  the  Walnut  Street 
Theatre,  in  1880,  Mr.  Reed  was  engaged 
at  the  National  Theatre,  Philadelphia,  where 
he  remained  for  five  years.  He  then  at- 
tempted to  retire  from  active  service,  but 
he  could  not  stand  idleness.  He  secured 
a  position  in  the  Temple  Theatre,  Philadel- 
phia, in  1887,  where  he  remained  until  the 
house  burned  down.  After  that  Mr.  Reed 
was  induced  to  give  up  work  for  good. 

Roland  Reed  was  born  in  1856  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  as  a  child  was  often  made  use 
of  in  pieces  produced  at  the  Walnut  Street 
Theatre.  His  first  appearance  occurred  in 


Roland  Reed.  301 

the  old-time  farce,  called  "Peter  White," 
with  Tom  Placide,  when  he  was  six  months 
old.  When  he  wore  ginghams  and  was  still 
at  school,  he  tended  the  stage  door  at  the 
Walnut  for  $1.50  a  week,  and  studied  his 
next  day's  lesson  at  the  theatre  in  the  even- 
ing. Next  he  became  an  usher  at  the  Arch 
Street  Theatre,  for  which  he  received  $3.50 
a  week. 

"  One  night  an  old  gentleman  asked  me 
if  I  didn't  want  to  play  a  bootblack  in  '  The 
Streets  of  New  York,'  which  they  were  going 
to  put  on.  Mrs.  John  Drew  was  manager 
at  that  time,"  said  Mr.  Reed.  "  I  told  him 
I  wouldn't  mind.  Then  one  day  I  got  a 
note  from  Mrs.  Drew  to  come  to  see  her. 
She  offered  me  the  position  of  call-boy  at 
a  salary  of  $5  a  week.  This  was  a  rise  in 
life,  and  from  call-boy  I  became  prompter. 
I  used  to  read  the  plays  to  the  actors,  stand- 
ing beside  Mrs.  Drew,  who  corrected  me 
when  I  made  mistakes.  When  I  was  still 


3O2  Famous  Actors. 

call-boy  Lotta  came  to  play  her  first  star 
engagement  in  Philadelphia.  One  day  <  Bob ' 
Craig,  the  comedian,  was  ill,  and  announced 
that  he  wouldn't  be  able  to  play  his  part 
in  'The  Firefly.'  I  hurried  to  Mrs.  Drew 
and  asked  for  the  part.  She  hesitated,  but 
I  assured  her  it  would  be  all  right.  So  she 
told  me  to  try,  and  I  sang  the  songs  with 
Lotta  and  made  a  hit.  Then  I  applied  for 
the  position  of  comedian  for  the  next  season, 
but  Mrs.  Drew  had  already  engaged  another, 
an  Englishman.  Then  I  resolved  to  strike 
out  for  something  better,  and  I  left  the 
Arch.  My  father  said :  <  My  boy,  you've 
ruined  yourself.'  I  replied  :  '  Do  you  think 
I  want  to  spend  my  life  carrying  tables  and 
chairs  on  the  stage  ? '  And  I  went  to  the 
Walnut,  where  they  made  me  an  offer  to 
share  the  comedy  rdles  with  Chapman.  I 
worked  there  for  $i'8  a  week.  In  1871 
Goodwin  became  manager,  and  about  that 
time  I  left  Philadelphia. 


Roland  Reed.  303 

"  When  I  was  a  boy  and  used  to  sit  at  the 
stage  door,"  Mr.  Reed  continued,  "I  don't 
think  I  ever  wanted  to  be  an  actor.  To  be 
a  grocer  seemed  to  me  the  summit  of  human 
glory.  I  did  like  to  watch  the  fight  in 
'  Richard  III./  though.  No  Richard  ever 
fought  that  combat  in  those  days  that  I 
did  not  get  some  substitute  at  the  stage 
door  while  I  would  steal  up  to  the  gallery 
or  flies  to  witness  the  blood-curdling  combat. 
Of  all  the  throng  of  celebrities  who  passed  in 
and  out  of  that  historic  old  back  door,  John 
Wilkes  Booth  impressed  me  most  by  the 
elegance  of  his  dress  and  manner,  and  by  his 
handsome  face,  which  was  so  striking  that  no 
one  could  fail  to  be  impressed  by  it.  It  was 
about  six  months  before  the  assassination  of 
Lincoln  that  I  saw  him.  Once,  in  passing 
out,  Booth  looked  closely  at  me,  and,  seeing 
what  a  small  boy  I  was  for  such  a  position, 
turned  back,  shook  hands  with  me,  leaving 
in  my  palm  a  substantial  present,  which  I 


V 

304  Famous  Actors, 

made  all  haste  to  spend,  not  foreseeing  what 
a  memento  of  the  man  it  would  be  now." 

Mrs.  Drew's  Arch  Street  Theatre  Com- 
pany was  a  famous  organisation.  Mrs.  Drew 
was  leading  comedy  actress,  and  Barton  Hill 
was  leading  man.  Lizzie  Price,  afterward 
the  wife  of  Charles  Fechter,  was  leading 
juvenile.  Fanny  Davenport  was  the  sou- 
brette ;  Louis  James,  walking  gentleman ; 
Stuart  Robson,  second  low  comedian ;  F.  F. 
Mackay,  character  and  old  man  parts ;  Clara 
Fisher  Maeder,  character  old  women,  Mrs. 
Thayer,  general  old  women ;  and  Robert 
Craig,  first  low  comedian.  Craig  was  also 
something  of  a  dramatist,  and  wrote  the 
first  sketches  in  which  Lotta  appeared,  and 
also  several  for  Mr.  Reed. 

From  Philadelphia  Mr.  Reed  went  to  New 
Orleans,  where  he  appeared  in  the  Academy 
of  Music.  Then  he  acted  at  the  Olympic 
Theatre  in  St.  Louis,  and  also  in  Kansas 
City.  In  1873,  Lizzie  B.  Price,  with  whom 


Roland  Reed.  305 

he  had  played  at  the  Arch  Street  Theatre, 
organised  a  company,  under  the  management 
of  David  Hanchett,  to  present  "  Lucretia 
Borgia "  and  "  The  Octoroon  "  on  tour,  and 
Mr.  Reed  joined  her.  The  venture  was  an 
unfortunate  one,  but  the  company  finally 
reached  Port  Huron,  Michigan,  where  it  was 
billed  to  play  "  Lucretia  Borgia  "  one  night 
and  "The  Octoroon"  the  next.  Mr.  Reed 
was  Geppo  in  "  Lucretia  Borgia,"  and  T.  R. 
Hann  was  Gubette.  Mr.  Hann's  costume 
was  a  remarkable  affair.  He  wore  an  old 
pair  of  cotton  tights  darned  at  the  knees, 
and  held  in  position  by  a  belt,  which  his 
jerkin  was  too  short  to  cover,  a  pair  of  old 
russet  shoes,  of  about  the  time  of  Charles  I., 
and  on  his  head  a  wig  minus  of  all  except 
four  of  its  original  curls. 

The  audience  was  none  too  friendly  in  the 
first  place,  and  this  rig  was  almost  more  than 
it  could  stand.  However,  the  banquet  scene 
in  Lucretia  Borgia's  palace  was  reached.  The 


306  Famous  Actors. 

cavaliers  were  seated  at  the  table,  the  fatal 
liquid  was  poured  out.  Mr.  Hann,  whose 
sense  of  smell  was  somewhat  defective  be- 
cause of  old  age,  raised  his  goblet  to  his  lips 
and  drank.  He  flung  the  goblet  from  him. 
His  eyes  fairly  stuck  out  of  his  head.  He 
choked  and  sputtered  and  finally  gasped, 
"  Coal  oil !  "  The  audience  shrieked  with 
laughter,  and  there  ended  the  performance 
for  that  night.  The  next  day  Miss  Price 
and  her  manager  left  the  company  stranded. 
There  were  twelve  actors  in  the  party,  and 
they  organised  the  Roland  Reed  Comedy 
Company  and  went  over  the  border  into  Can- 
ada. After  a  few  weeks  they  returned  to  Port 
Huron,  quite  as  badly  off  financially  as  they 
were  before.  Mr.  Reed  induced  the  local  band 
to  accept  a  benefit  and  pay  the  company  $50 
for  its  services.  The  band  lost  just  $30  by 
the  deal,  but  the  $50  was  enough  to  send 
eleven  of  the  actors  to  their  homes,  Mr. 
Reed  himself  reaching  Detroit  by  means  of  a 


Roland  Reed.  307 

freight  train.  It  was  midsummer,  and  how 
to  keep  alive  until  fall,  when  he  could  get  an 
engagement,  was  a  serious  problem. 

"I  was  almost  on  the  point  of  despair," 
said  Mr.  Reed,  "when  I  ran  across  a  book 
agent  who  wanted  me  to  buy  an  illustrated 
music-book,  price  two  dollars.  Music  being 
in  my  line,  I  fell  into  conversation  with  the 
fellow,  who  informed  me  that  he  was  doing 
very  well,  but  could  do  better  if  he  could 
play  the  piano.  Here  was  a  chance  for  me, 
thought  I,  and  so  out  of  my  ridiculously  small 
pile  I  sent  for  some  of  the  books,  and  started 
out  to  try  my  luck  as  a  music  seller.  From 
Detroit  I  canvassed  the  whole  State  of  Mich- 
igan, making  from  $75  to  $100  a  week.  I 
soon  found  out  that  I  must  get  the  entree 
to  the  houses ;  so,  upon  arriving  at  a  place, 
I  would  go  straight  to  the  mayor  or  the 
principal  lawyer  or  the  doctor  and  present 
him  with  a  set  of  songs.  I  would  soon  be 
summoned  by  the  ladies  of  the  family  to 


308  Famous  Actors. 

sing  and  play  the  music  the  book  con- 
tained. The  songs  were  not  first-class,  so 
when  I  found  the  ladies  were  cultivated  I 
would  play  the  finest  classical  music  I  knew. 
Sometimes  a  lady  would  read  the  music  over 
my  shoulder  and  tell  me  the  notes  I  played 
were  not  there.  I  crept  out  by  saying  I  was 
playing  the  air  part,  and  so  never  failed  to 
sell  a  book.  At  the  end  of  my  five  weeks  of 
canvassing  the  publisher  of  the  music-book 
offered  me  $150  a  week  if  I  would  continue 
in  the  business." 

That  fall  Mr.  Reed  became  leading  come- 
dian in  John  Ellsler's  Cleveland  Theatre, 
where  he  succeeded  James  Lewis,  who  had 
joined  Augustin  Daly's  company.  While 
Mr.  Reed  was  there  E.  L.  Davenport  saw 
him  act,  and  secured  him  a  position  in  the 
Walnut  Street  Theatre,  and  he  was  at  that 
house  during  the  Centennial  season.  He 
again  went  to  New  Orleans,  and  in  1878 
joined  McVicker's  Chicago  company,  with 


Roland  Reed.  309 

which  he  remained  two  seasons,  appearing  in 
such  characters  as  Doctor  Ollapod  in  "The 
Poor  Gentleman,"  Doctor  Pan  gloss  in  "  The 
Heir-at-Law,"  Bob  Acres  in  "The  Rivals," 
Gobbo  in  "The  Merchant  of  Venice,"  the 
First  Grave  Digger  in  "  Hamlet,"  Picard  in 
"The  Two  Orphans,"  O'Rourke,  the  Irish 
sergeant,  in  "A  Celebrated  Case,"  and  the 
leading  comedy  part  in  Lord  Bulwer-Lytton's 
comedy,  "  Money." 

After  leaving  McVicker's  he  was  the  lead- 
ing comedy  light  of  the  Colville  Comedy 
Company,  which  travelled  from  New  York  to 
San  Francisco  and  back  again,  presenting 
burlesques  and  extravaganzas.  In  the  early 
eighties  he  appeared  as  a  star  at  Daly's  Thea- 
tre, New  York,  in  "  An  Arabian  Girl."  Then 
he  played  the  Jew  in  "The  World,"  after 
which  he  was  billed  as  a  star  in  Fred  Mars- 
den's  "  Cheek,"  and  again  in  the  same  au- 
thor's "  Humbug."  He  was  the  creator  of 
the  character  of  Ko  Ko  in  this  country  in 


3io  Famous  Actors. 

the  production  of  an  unauthorised  version  of 
"The  Mikado,"  which  Sidney  Rosenfeld 
brought  out  in  New  York.  It  was  a  short- 
lived affair,  though  Mr.  Reed  made  a  personal 
success.  Then  Mr.  Rosenfeld  staged  an 
adaptation  of  one  of  Audran's  operas,  which 
he  called  "The  Bridal  Trap,"  but  this  was 
also  a  failure. 

In  1887  Mr.  Reed  produced  "Lend  Me 
Your  Wife,"  an  adaptation  of  the  same  farce 
from  which  "Jane"  was  afterward  taken, 
and  since  that  time  his  success  has  been 
continuous.  His  plays  have  been  "  The  Club 
Friend,"  "Innocent  as  a  Lamb,"  "The  Poli- 
tician "  (a  revised  version  of  "  For  Congress," 
a  popular  comedy  in  John  T.  Raymond's 
repertory),  "  The  Wrong  Mr.  Wright,"  and 
"  His  Father's  Boy." 


JOSEPH    HAWORTH 

As  Hamlet. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

JOSEPH  HAWORTH. 

IN  1895  Joseph  Haworth  played  a  long 
engagement  in  Boston  in  the  standard  drama, 
acting  the  leading  rdles  in  "  Hamlet,"  "  Rich- 
ard III.,"  and  "  Richelieu,"  besides  appearing 
in  "The  Bells,"  «  Rosedale,"  and  "  Rinaldo." 
Although  Mr.  Haworth's  support  was  not 
good,  he  himself  made  an  excellent  impres- 
sion in  a  most  arduous  repertory.  His 
Hamlet  was  conventionally  conceived.  While 
it  never  rose  to  sublime  heights,  never  carried 
the  spectator  entirely  out  of  himself,  it  was 
at  all  times  scholarly,  and  in  moments  gen- 
uinely effective.  It  could  not  justly  be 
called  great,  but  neither  was  it  ordinary  or 
commonplace. 

3" 


312  Famous  Actors. 

His  Richard  III.  was,  as  a  whole,  more  im- 
pressive than  his  Hamlet,  though  he  made 
the  mistake  of  using  the  ridiculous  Colley 
Gibber  version  with  its  introduction  of  King 
Henry  IV.  in  the  first  act.  There  was  one 
great  moment  in  Mr.  Haworth' s  presentation 
of  the  character,  and  that  came  when,  recov- 
ering from  the  commotion  into  which  the 
vision  of  his  murdered  victims  had  thrown 
him,  he  cried,  "  Richard  is  himself  again  !  " 
At  that  moment  Mr.  Haworth  touched  a 
height  which  he  did  not  reach  at  any  other 
time  during  the  performance.  He  was  sin- 
cere, thrilling,  and  dramatic  without  being 
theatrical. 

Mr.  Haworth  was  entirely  new  to  the 
character  of  the  Duke  of  Gloster,  and  con- 
sequently he  had  by  no  means  wholly  mas- 
tered his  conception  and  impersonation  of  the 
part.  Indeed,  the  actor  could  do  little  more 
than  show  the  lines  on  which  he  intended  to 
develop  his  characterisation,  Richard  III. 


Joseph  Haworth.  3 1 3 

is  an  exceedingly  complex  personage.  He 
is  deformed  both  in  body  and  mind.  He  is 
supremely  selfish  and  abnormally  ambitious, 
and  he  knows  no  law  but  his  own  will.  He 
is  bold,  even  courageous  ;  he  is  crafty,  knows 
how  to  dissimulate,  how  to  play  upon  the 
hearts  of  men,  and  how  to  win  their  confi- 
dence so  that,  though  they  know  him  black, 
they  would  fain  believe  him  white.  He  has  a 
tongue  which  can  speak  soft,  soothing  words 
of  flattery,  or  send  forth  between  smiling 
lips  keen  shafts  of  sarcasm  that  cut  like 
knives.  What  a  master  artist  of  play  acting 
is  he  that  can  conceive  and  set  forth  in  all 
its  entirety  such  a  character ! 

Mr.  Haworth's  Richelieu  was  stronger 
than  either  his  Hamlet  or  his  Richard  III. 
He  did  not  comprehend  to  the  full  the  crafty 
side  of  the  cardinal's  nature ;  he  did  not 
make  plain  the  master  mind  that  ruled 
France  by  probing  into  the  secrets  and  in- 
dulging the  weaknesses  of  her  king  and  his 


314  Famous  Actors. 

court.  He  failed  also  thoroughly  to  estab- 
lish the  fact  of  the  cardinal's  physical  weak- 
ness. He  did  appreciate  the  force  of  the 
power  of  will  that  in  moments  of  excitement 
would  conquer  decrepitude  and  bring  a  flash 
of  the  old-time  bodily  vigour.  Mr.  Haworth 
gave  one  the  notion  that  the  cardinal's  illness 
was  a  good  deal  of  sham,  and  such  an  im- 
pression threw  the  character  entirely  out  of 
focus.  Once  in  awhile  the  actor  was  in- 
clined to  preach,  but  usually  he  read  Bulwer- 
Lytton's  sonorous  speeches  with  good  elocu- 
tion. Richelieu's  affection  for  Julie  was 
often  beautifully  indicated.  Of  course,  the 
"mark  where  she  stands"  speech  was  effect- 
ive, for  no  actor  ever  failed  to  thrill  an 
audience  at  this  wonderful  dramatic  climax. 

"  Mr.  Haworth's  Matthias  is  utterly  differ- 
ent from  either  Irving's  or  Coquelin's,"  wrote 
Mildred  Aldrich,  in  a  criticism  of  Mr.  Ha- 
worth's performance  of  "  The  Bells."  "  He 
makes  him  a  hard-visaged,  morose-looking 


Joseph  Haworth.  315 

man,  who,  even  on  his  return  home  in  the 
first  act,  looks  out  of  a  face  on  which  tor- 
tured conscience  has  already  set  its  marks. 
From  the  very  opening  of  the  play  he  is  a 
broken  man.  On  this  point  Mr.  Haworth,  as 
he  plays  into  the  part,  will  doubtless  think 
better.  Prosperity,  security,  a  happy  family 
have  quite  wiped  out  of  the  life  of  Matthias 
the  Polish  Jew,  until  the  mesmerist  arouses 
his  fears  by  showing  him  an  unthought-of 
danger,  and  then,  with  the  resistlessness 
of  fate,  events  —  but  events  that  none  save 
himself  either  see  or  suspect  —  sweep  him 
on  to  death.  Matthias  is  a  bold  man.  In 
the  face  of  the  new  crime  he  carried  himself 
with  such  control  that  he  escaped  suspicion. 
When  that  crime  is  old  and  safely  buried, 
though  conscience,  bad  dreams,  and  drink 
might  drive  him  to  temporary  frenzy  and 
apoplexy,  he  would  not  become  a  cringing, 
shivering  old  man  at  whom  every  one  would 
have  looked  askance.  Yet  such  is  the 


3 1 6  Famous  Actors. 

picture  that  Haworth  presents  as  Matthias. 
It  may  have  its  justifications,  but  even  then 
the  part  is  robbed  by  that  treatment  of 
variety  and  attractiveness. 

"  Mr.  Haworth's  Matthias  was  theatrically 
effective.  He  made  every  point  tell  with 
force  and  skill,  but  it  lacked  either  spiritual 
sweetness  or  personal  attraction.  It  was,  in 
fact,  the  work  of  a  well-trained  actor  who 
understands  his  business  of  acting  better 
than  he  does  the  dissection  of  character. 
This  is  a  point,  however,  about  which  the 
popular  audience  gives  itself  little  trouble, 
showing  as  great  satisfaction  with  the  per- 
sonality of  the  favourite  actor  as  it  would 
have  felt  for  a  new  and  original  characterisa- 
tion of  Matthias.  There  is  one  failing  of 
Mr.  Haworth's  which  may  appropriately  be 
noted  here,  because  it  has  appeared  in  other 
parts,  —  his  failure  to  carry  an  emotion  past 
a  climax.  One  incident  alone  —  a  small  one 
—  will  suffice  to  illustrate  that.  His  Mat- 


Joseph  Haworth.  3 1 7 

thias  arrives  in  his  bedchamber  quite  drunk, 
like  his  guests,  and  has  to  be  assisted  across 
the  room.  Yet  all  trace  of  that  disappears 
the  moment  he  is  left  alone.  Even  this  may 
be  justified.  Yet  it's  best  not,  because  it 
robs  the  scene  of  theatrical  effectiveness." 

Joseph  Haworth  was  born  in  Providence, 
Rhode  Island,  on  April  7,  1855,  but  was 
brought  up  and  educated  in  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
His  debut  as  an  actor  was  made  in  May, 
1873,  at  the  Academy  of  Music  in  Cleve- 
land, when  he  played  the  Duke  of  Buck- 
ingham to  the  Richard  III.  of  Charlotte 
Crampton,  who  gave  him  an  engagement 
in  her  company,  after  hearing  him  recite 
"  Shamus  O'Brien "  at  an  amateur  enter- 
tainment. Miss  Crampton' s  Richard  was 
considered  a  remarkable  performance.  She 
had  a  masculine  voice,  which  helped  her  to 
establish  an  illusion,  and,  as  a  part  of  her 
make-up,  she  wore  a  small  moustache  and 
goatee,  which  gave  her  face  a  villainous  ex- 


3 1 8  Famous  Actors. 

pression.  After  a  year  with  Miss  Crampton, 
Mr.  Haworth  joined  John  Ellsler's  company 
at  the  Euclid  Avenue  Opera  House,  in  Cleve- 
land, as  utility  man,  though,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  he  was  given  more  important  roles. 
For  instance,  his  opening  performance  was 
Orlando  in  "  As  You  Like  It,"  to  the  Rosa- 
lind of  Effie  Ellsler.  Later,  during  the  en- 
gagement of  Lawrence  Barrett,  Mr.  Haworth 
acted  a  small  part  in  "Julius  Caesar,"  and 
received  this  compliment  from  Mr.  Barrett : 
"  Young  man,  those  lines  were  delivered 
beautifully.  Take  care  of  yourself,  and  you 
will  make  your  mark." 

Mr.  Haworth  remained  with  Mr.  Ellsler 
four  years,  playing  most  of  the  time  in 
Cleveland,  though  also  visiting  many  of  the 
principal  Western  cities  with  the  company. 
He  also  appeared  for  a  short  time  at  Augus- 
tin  Daly's  Fifth  Avenue  Theatre,  and  at  the 
Eagle  Theatre  in  New  York,  in  support  of 
Anna  Dickinson,  acting  Cromwell  in  "The 


Joseph  Hawortk.  319 

Crown  of  Thorns."  His  last  appearance 
under  Mr.  Ellsler's  management  was  on  May 
10,  1877,  in  Cleveland,  when  at  his  farewell 
benefit  he  played  Hamlet  for  the  first  time 
to  the  Ophelia  of  Effie  Ellsler.  In  connec- 
tion with  this  performance,  Mr.  Haworth 
relates  the  following  incident : 

"  I  got  along  nicely  enough  until  the  closet 
scene.  I  had  just  finished  the  lines  'look 
upon  this  picture,'  when  I  looked  across  the 
stage,  and  there  stood  Charlotte  Crampton 
in  her  Richard  III.  costume,  glaring  at  me 
in  exactly  the  same  manner  as  she  glared  at 
me  on  the  night  of  my  debut.  Why,  the 
woman  had  been  dead  a  year !  I  stood  trans- 
fixed with  horror,  and  my  tongue  cleaved  to 
the  roof  of  my  mouth.  The  audience  thought 
it  was  acting,  and  gave  me  round  after  round 
of  applause.  As  I  looked,  the  apparition,  or 
whatever  you  want  to  call  it,  vanished  slowly, 
and  for  a  moment  I  closed  my  eyes.  When 
I  looked  again,  the  demon-like  figure  had 


32O  Famous  Actors. 

gone.  I  was  stuck  in  my  lines,  and  I  don't 
know  how  I  recovered  them  again ;  but  I 
did  go  through  the  part  mechanically  until 
the  end.  I  was  called  before  the  curtain 
again  and  again  at  the  close.  I  am  not  a 
spiritualist,  and  I  cannot  account  for  that 
horrible  experience.  Call  it  an  optical  illu- 
sion or  anything  you  will,  I  shall  never  for- 
get it.  Miss  Crampton  was  buried  in  a  little 
Catholic  burying-ground  in  Louisville.  I  re- 
member when  I  was  playing  there  I  visited 
her  grave.  A  small  stone  marks  her  last 
resting-place." 

The  next  season  Mr.  Haworth  supported 
Edwin  Booth,  and  the  four  years  following 
that  he  was  a  member  of  the  Boston  Museum 
stock  company,  making  his  first  appearance 
at  that  house  on  September  7,  1878,  as 
Count  Henri  de  Beausoleil  in  "Satan  in 
Paris."  After  leaving  the  Museum,  Mr. 
Haworth  supported  John  McCullough  for 
several  seasons,  and  he  was  with  the  trage- 


Joseph  Haworth.  321 

dian  at  the  time  of  his  last  appearance, 
which  occurred  at  McVicker's  Theatre,  Chi- 
cago. Mr.  Haworth's  account  of  this  unfor- 
tunate affair  is  as  follows  : 

"  For  a  long  time  signs  of  breaking  down 
were  noticeable,  and  on  that  last  perform- 
ance in  Chicago  we  all  saw  that  the  poor 
Guv'nor  would  not  last  much  longer.  The 
play  was  '  The  Gladiator,'  with  McCullough 
as  Spartacus.  I  played  Pharsarius.  When 
the  brothers  met  in  the  arena,  he  seemed  to 
forget  his  lines,  and  he  became  confused. 
He  placed  both  his  hands  on  my  shoulders, 
and  trembled,  as  he  said,  <  What  next,  Joe, 
what  next  ? '  I  gave  him  the  cue,  and  we 
finished.  After  the  act  we  received  two 
recalls  where  we  generally  got  six  or  seven. 
He  said,  '  My  boy,  they  seem  to  like  it  to- 
night ;  it's  going  fine.'  He  slipped  up  on 
the  lines  several  times  after  this  act,  and 
once  he  accused  me  of  reading  his  lines. 
The  last  act  came,  and  those  who  heard  the 


322  Famous  Actors. 

words  of  the  boy  attending  him  can  never 
forget  how  they  sounded :  '  General,  you 
had  best  go  to  your  tent ;  you  are  unfit  for 
battle.'  He  was  called  before  the  curtain 
at  the  close,  the  audience  seeming  to  under- 
stand that  something  was  wrong.  There 
were  loud  calls  for  a  speech,  and  he  spoke 
a  few  words.  They  were  the  last  spoken  in 
public.  He  said  : 

" '  If  you  had  suffered  as  I  have  to-night, 
you  would  not  have  done  this.  Good  night.'  ' 

"The  company  was  disbanded  the  next 
morning,  and  it  assembled  at  the  theatre 
on  business.  The  Guv'nor  came  in,  and, 
meeting  me  in  the  lobby,  said,  '  The  show 
did  not  go  very  well  last  night,  and  the 
papers  cut  me  up  a  bit  this  morning.' 
< Never  mind  that,'  I  replied,  'you  need  not 
care  for  what  is  said.'  I  asked  him  if  there 
was  to  be  a  rehearsal,  and  he  answered  yes. 
Knowing  his  condition,  the  company  con- 
sented just  to  humour  him.  The  first  play 


Joseph  Haworth.  323 

to  be  rehearsed  was  'The  Gladiator.'  He 
was  perfect  in  every  line,  and  he  had  the 
entire  company  in  tears  during  parts  of  his 
delivery.  When  he  said  to  me,  in  giving 
me  charge  of  his  wife  and  family,  'Pharsa- 
rius,  I  give  thee  more  than  my  life,  guard 
them  well,'  there  seemed  to  be  more  mean- 
ing to  the  lines  than  I  ever  heard  before. 
It  was  with  genuine  sorrow  that  Mrs.  Fos- 
ter, the  wife,  replied,  '  Husband,  husband,  do 
not  send  me  away;  if  I  leave  thee  now  it 
will  be  for  ever/  There  was  not  a  member 
of  the  company  that  did  not  feel  the  deep 
meaning  of  this  line,  and  even  the  strongest 
man  in  the  company,  Harry  Langdon,  was 
sobbing  like  a  child.  McCullough  did  not 
seem  to  mind  what  was  going  on  about 
him.  When  Spartacus  died,  after  the  lines, 
'  There  are  green  valleys  in  Thrace,'  his 
head  dropped  listlessly,  as  though  he  was 
dead  in  reality. 

"  When  '  The  Gladiator '  was  finished,  he 


324  Famous  Actors. 

called  for  a  rehearsal  of  '  Richelieu,'  and  of 
course  his  order  was  obeyed.  He  went 
through  the  play  in  the  same  perfect  man- 
ner that  characterised  'The  Gladiator.'  He 
delivered  the  curse  in  a  magnificent  manner, 
and,  at  its  conclusion,  the  entire  company 
joined  in  loud  and  heartfelt  applause.  When 
Baradas  recited  the  line,  '  His  mind  and  life 
are  breaking  fast,'  the  Guv' nor  turned  to 
denounce  him.  As  he  did  so,  he  broke 
down  completely,  and  was  taken  away  to 
the  hotel.  It  was  with  feelings  of  sad- 
ness that  the  company  left  the  theatre  that 
day.  We  all  felt  that  we  had  bid  a  long 
good-bye  to  poor  John  McCullough,  and  that 
we  would  never  see  him  again  on  this  earth. 
I  cannot  add  anything  to  the  tributes  that 
have  been  paid  to  the  memory  of  McCul- 
lough. He  was  a  dear,  good  friend,  a  whole- 
souled  man,  loved  by  his  friends,  and  his 
enemies  —  well,  his  kindly,  genial  nature 
was  proof  against  them." 


Joseph  Haworth.  325 

The  season  following  McCullough's  col- 
lapse, Mr.  Haworth  became  a  star  in  popu- 
lar drama,  presenting  "  Hoodman  Blind," 
"The  Bells,"  « Ruy  Bias,"  "The  Leaven- 
worth  Case,"  and  "Paul  Kauvar."  He  ap- 
peared in  "The  Crust  of  Society,"  and  last 
season  he  was  successful  as  John  Storm  in 
"  The  Christian." 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

HERBERT    KELCEY. 

HERBERT  KELCEY  won  his  spurs  in  the 
frock  coat,  kid  glove  era  of  the  New  York 
Lyceum  Theatre.  He  was  one  of  the  origi- 
nal members  of  Daniel  Frohman's  company, 
and  he  remained  with  the  organisation  until 
1896,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  James  K. 
Hackett.  His  first  appearance  with  the 
Lyceum  Company  was  in  October,  1887,  as 
John  Rutherford  in  "The  Wife,"  which  part 
he  created. 

In  the  fall  of  1896,  Mr.  Kelcey  appeared 
with  Mrs.  Leslie  Carter  in  "The  Heart  of 
Maryland."  When  Clyde  Fitch's  play,  "  The 
Moth  and  the  Flame,"  was  produced  in  New 
York,  Mr.  Kelcey  took  the  part  of  the  vil- 
326 


HERBERT  KELCEY. 


*  » 

-  :        '•          '•         ,'•       >J  » 

•  -      -.',:  s 

•  <  •         ^  ',  <• , » 


Herbert  Kelcey.  327 

lain,  Edward  Fletcher,  an  entirely  new  line 
of  work  for  him,  and  he  made  a  decided 
success.  His  acting  from  first  to  last  was 
conspicuously  good.  His  style  had  not  pre- 
viously greatly  impressed  me,  and  the  skill 
with  which  he  presented  the  complex  emo- 
tions that  moved  Fletcher  during  the  last 
act  of  "The  Moth  and  the  Flame"  there- 
fore surprised  me.  He  laid  bare  Fletcher's 
soul  in  all  its  horrible  baseness.  Yet  so 
human  was  he  withal,  so  carefully  did  he 
indicate  the  hysterical  frenzy  under  which 
the  man  laboured,  so  forcibly  did  he  empha- 
sise the  fundamental  fact  that  Fletcher 
loved,  —  selfishly,  it  is  true,  but  with  con- 
quering passion,  nevertheless,  —  that  he  suc- 
ceeded in  not  wholly  divorcing  the  spectators' 
sympathy.  When  he  left  the  stage,  one 
could  not  help  pitying  to  a  degree  the  man, 
rascal  though  he  was,  who  had  fought  so 
hard,  who  had  risked  all,  and  lost  all.  This 
pity  was  Mr.  Kelcey 's  great  triumph. 


328  Famous  Actors. 

Clyde  Fitch's  plays  always  seem  to  fall 
short  of  what  one  expects  of  them.  His 
"Beau  Brummel,"  as  given  by  Richard 
Mansfield,  was  as  good  as  anything  that  he 
ever  did,  though  I  doubt  if  that  play  would 
stand  the  test  of  poor  acting.  Mr.  Fitch's 
most  ambitious  play  was  "Nathan  Hale," 
but  this  was  not  an  artistic  drama.  It  was 
saved  from  failure  by  the  actors  and  its  own 
interesting  subject.  In  "The  Moth  and  the 
Flame  "  Mr.  Fitch  aimed  to  produce  a  mod- 
ern drama  of  serious  interest.  His  theme 
was  a  familiar  social  condition,  and  his  set- 
ting was  society  life  in  New  York  City.  It 
is  well  to  say  at  once  that  Mr.  Fitch  unques- 
tionably made  an  effective  acting  play,  and 
his  sharp-witted  puppets,  moving  in  an  envi- 
ronment of  glittering  superficialities,  and  en- 
livened by  the  art  and  magnetic  personalities 
of  competent  actors,  seemed  for  the  moment 
to  reflect  truth  and  to  touch  human  nature. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  "  The  Moth 


Herbert  Kelcey.  329 

and  the  Flame "  did  not  develop  a  single 
character.  A  striking  example  of  Mr.  Fitch's 
failure  to  conceive  his  characters  as  person- 
ages was  seen  in  Mrs.  Lorrimer,  the  doubly 
divorced.  For  two  acts  the  author  beguiled 
us  into  believing  her  the  most  frivolous  and 
insincere  of  women,  and  when  he  had  this 
notion  firmly  fixed,  he  astonished  and  bewil- 
dered us  by  giving  her  a  heart.  Even  the 
two  chief  characters  in  the  play,  the  only 
ones,  in  fact,  that  were  vital  to  the  action, 
Marion  Wolton  and  Edward  Fletcher,  were 
without  individuality  or  temperamental  force. 
They  were  interesting  only  because  of  the 
experiences  they  had. 

The  motif  of  «  The  Moth  and  the  Flame," 
the  love  of  a  good  woman  for  a  man  who  is  a 
moral  degenerate,  is  as  old  as  civilisation,  but 
it  is  a  subject,  nevertheless,  that  has  an  abid- 
ing interest.  For  the  purpose,  probably,  of 
heightening  the  dramatic  effect,  Mr.  Fitch 
exaggerated  his  conditions  until  they  ap- 


33°  Famous  Actors. 

preached  improbability.  Fletcher  was  a  fas- 
cinating enough  villain,  and  he  might  easily 
have  turned  the  head  of  an  inexperienced 
schoolgirl.  But  Marion  Wolton  was  many 
degrees  removed  from  the  schoolgirl.  She 
was  a  serious-minded  woman  of  the  world, 
whose  life  had  been  passed  amid  the  petty 
jealousies  and  scandalous  gossipings  of  an 
idle  and  useless  social  circle.  She  had  no 
romantic  notions.  That  a  man  like  Fletcher, 
with  whose  misdoings  she  was  in  a  general 
way  acquainted,  could  have  wormed  himself 
into  her  affections,  was  hard  to  believe. 
That  she  would  have  clung  to  him  even  after 
she  knew  that  another  woman  claimed  to  be 
his  wife,  was  a  greater  task  on  one's  credu- 
lity. Yet  to  make  possible  the  theatrical 
church  scene,  she  must  cling,  and  cling  she 
did. 

Mr.  Fitch's  work  was  meagre  in  closely 
connected  incident.  It  had  three  big  scenes, 
which  in  themselves  were  uncommonly  strong, 


Herbert  Kelcey.  331 

but  the  remainder  of  the  play  was  made  up 
of  bright  speeches  and  preparations  for  the 
climaxes.  In  the  church  scene,  for  instance, 
the  real  dramatic  interest  did  not  come  until 
a  few  minutes  before  the  curtain  fell.  The 
first  part  of  the  act  was  mere  padding,  clever 
in  its  way  and  entertaining,  but  padding  for 
all  that.  Logically,  the  drama  ended  with 
Marion's  renunciation  of  Fletcher  at  the  al- 
tar after  she  had  seen  him  strike  the  woman 
who  was  asking  for  justice  for  herself  and 
her  child.  But  the  last  act,  which  was  purely 
episodical  as  far  as  the  main  theme  was 
concerned,  was  the  most  interesting  of  the 
three.  For  one  thing,  it  gave  Mr.  Kelcey  a 
chance  to  do  some  very  effective  acting,  and 
it  was  in  this  act  also  that  one  made  the  sur- 
prising discovery  of  Mrs.  Lorrimer's  heart. 
The  ending  of  the  play,  however,  which  placed 
Marion  in  the  position  of  a  reward  of  merit 
for  the  good  lover,  was  only  a  makeshift. 
Herbert  Kelcey's  family  name  is  Lamb, 


332  Famous  Actors. 

and  he  comes  of  good  English  stock.  He 
was  born  on  October  10,  1855,  and  as  the 
eldest  son  he  was  destined  for  the  army.  In 
a  spirit  of  adventure  rather  than  with  any  seri- 
ous purpose  to  become  an  actor,  he  accepted 
a  minor  position  in  a  provincial  company, 
and  in  1877  made  his  debut  at  Brighton  in 
"  Flirtation."  His  success  determined  him 
to  adopt  the  stage  as  an  avocation. 

Mr.  Kelcey's  first  prominent  London  en- 
gagement was  in  "  Youth,"  by  Paul  Merritt 
and  Sir  Augustus  Harris,  when  that  drama 
was  produced  at  the  Drury  Lane  Theatre 
on  August  6,  1 88 1.  Mr.  Kelcey  created  the 
role  of  Captain  Lord  Loverton.  He  came  to 
this  country  a  year  later,  and  made  his  first 
appearance  on  September  Qth,  at  Wallack's 
Theatre  in  New  York,  as  Philip  Radley  in 
"  Taken  from  Life."  He  was  the  original 
in  this  country  of  Count  Orloff  in  "  Diplo- 
macy," and  the  original  Spider  in  "  The  Sil- 
ver King." 


Herbert  Kelcey.  333 

In  1884  Mr.  Kelcey  was  a  member  of  the 
Madison  Square  Company,  in  which  he  played 
such  parts  as  Cheviot  Hill  in  "Engaged," 
Edward  War  burton  in  "  Old  Love  Letters," 
and  Philip  Van  Pelt  in  "  Our  Society."  In  the 
fall  of  1886  he  rejoined  Wallack's  Company, 
playing  Colonel  Tressidor  in  Henry  Hamil- 
ton's "  Harvest,"  Lord  Juru  in  "  Moths," 
Joseph  Surface  in  the  Wallack  production  of 
"The  School  for  Scandal,"  Mark  Helstone 
in  "Harbour  Lights,"  Tom  Coke  in  "Old 
Heads  and  Young  Hearts,"  and  Major  Bar- 
ton in  "  The  Dominie's  Daughter."  His 
next  engagement  was  as  leading  man  of 
Daniel  Frohman's  Lyceum  Company. 


THE    END. 


INDEX. 


Abbey,  Henry  E.,  66,  157, 

J59- 

"Across  the  Continent," 
Henry  Jewett  in,  216. 

Adams,  Maude,  201. 

Adams,  William  T.,  259. 

"  Adventure  of  Lady  Ur- 
sula," E.  H.  Sothern  in, 
81. 

«  After  the  Ball,"  E.  M.  Hol- 
land in,  66. 

"Alabama," 

Holland,  E.  M.,  63,  67. 
Lackaye,  Wilton,  173. 

Aldrich,  Mildred,  314. 

Alexander,  George,  115. 

"All  the  Comforts  of 
Home," 

Faversham,       William, 

1 06. 
Gillette,  William,  187. 

"  Allan  Dare,"  Wilton  Lack- 
aye  in,  171. 

Allen,  C.  Leslie,  271. 

"  All  for  Her,"  J.  E.  Dodson 
in,  286. 


"  Alpine     Roses,"     Richard 
Mansfield  in,  53. 

"  Ambition,"   N.    C.    Good- 
win in,  134. 

"American  Citizen,"  N.  C. 
Goodwin  in,  134. 

"American   Heiress,"    Wil- 
ton Lackaye  in,  173. 

"  American    King,"     James 
O'Neill  in,  148. 

"  American     Minister,"    W. 
H.  Crane  in,  164. 

"  American    Money,"   J.  K. 
Hackett  in,  208. 

Anderson,  Mary,  268. 

"  April  Weather,"  Sol  Smith 
Russell  in,  259. 

"  Arabian      Girl,"      Roland 
Reed  in,  309. 

"Arabian    Nights,"    J.     K. 
Hackett  in,  208. 

"  Aristocracy," 

Faversham,  William, 

107. 
Lackaye,  Wilton,  173. 

"  Arms  and  the  Man," 


335 


336 


Index. 


Jewett,  Henry,  220. 
Mansfield,  Richard,  56. 
"Around     the     World     in 
Eighty     Days,"     William 
Gillette  in,  182. 
"  Arrah-na-Pogue," 

Jewett,  Henry,  215,  218. 
MacDowell,  Melbourne, 

242. 

Mantell,  R.  B.,  291. 
"Art   and   Nature,"   N.   C. 

Goodwin  in,  134. 
Arthur,  Julia,  207. 
"  As  You  Like  It," 
Drew,  John,  91. 
Hackett,  J.  K.,  206. 
Haworth,  Joseph,  318. 
Lackaye,  Wilton,  171. 
MacDowell,  Melbourne, 

240. 

Miller,  Henry,  192. 
Skinner,  Otis,  274. 
"Aunt   Jack,"   E.    M.  Hol- 
land in,  63,  67. 

"  Bachelor's  Romance,"  Sol 

Smith  Russell  in,  259. 
Barnum,  P.  T.,  267. 
Barrett,    Lawrence,    28,   72, 

169, 171,  254,  268,  271,318. 
Barron,   Charles,    113,    114, 

242,  244. 
Barry,  S.,  228. 

Barrymore,  Maurice,  91, 187. 
"  Bauble  Shop," 

Dodson,  J.  E.,  287. 
Drew,  John,  92. 
"Beau   Brummel,"   Richard 

Mansfield  in,  55. 
"  Because  She   Loved  Him 

So," 


Dodson,  J.  E.,  279. 
Gillette,    William,    174, 

188. 

Beecher,  Henry  Ward,  178. 
"Belle's  Stratagem,"  Henry 

Jewett  in,  220. 
Bellew,  Kyrle,  209. 
"  Bells,"  Joseph  Haworth  in, 

311,  314,  325. 
"  Bells  of  Haslemere,"  John 

B.  Mason  in,  114. 
"  Benedict   Arnold,"    Henry 

Jewett  in,  221,  222. 
"  Benefit  of  the  Doubt,"  Wil- 
liam Faversham  in,  107. 
Berger   Family,   Sol    Smith 

Russell  with,  256. 
"Betsy  Baker,"  John  Drew 

in,  89. 
"  Bewitched,"     Sol      Smith 

Russell  in,  258. 
"  Big  Bonanza,"  John  Drew 

in,  90. 
«  Bitter  Cold,"  Henry  Jewett 

in,  215. 
"Black   and   White,"  J.  E. 

Dodson  in,  284. 
"  Black  Diamond  Engineer," 

Melbourne  MacDowell  in, 

245- 

"  Black-Eyed  Susan," 
Drew,  John,  89. 
Gillette,  William,  182. 
Goodwin,  N.  C.,  130. 
« Black  Flag,"  N.  C.  Good- 
win in,  132. 

"Blanche     Horlock,"    Wil- 
liam Faversham  in,  101. 
"  Bohemia," 

Faversham,    William, 
107. 


Index. 


337 


Miller,  Henry,  195. 

«  Bookmaker,"  N.  C.  Good- 
win in,  134. 

Booth  Edwin,  28,  90,  96, 
143  228,  270,  272,  320. 

Booth,   John    Wilkes,    228, 

3°3- 
« Bootle's     Baby,"     Wilton 

Lackaye  in,  172. 
Boston  Museum,  32,  54,  72, 

96,  iio,in,  113, 128,130, 

131,  242,  258,  320. 
Boucicault,  Aubrey,  219. 
Boucicault,  Dion,  66,  292. 
"  Boulangere,"     Richard 

Mansfield  in,  52. 
Bowers,  Mrs.,  207. 
"  Bridal  Trip,"  Roland  Reed 

in,  310. 
"Broken  Hearts,"    William 

Gillette  in,  183. 
"  Broken  Seal,"  J.  K.  Hack- 

ett  in,  207. 
"Brother     John,"     W.    H. 

Crane  in,  164. 
Brougham,  John,  130. 
Browne,  Boston,  281. 
Buchanan,  James,  284. 
"Butterflies,"     John  Drew 

in,  92. 

Byron,  Arthur,  219. 
Byron,  Oliver  Doud,  206. 

Cameron,  Beatrice,  55. 
"Camille,"  Otis  Skinner  in, 

274. 

Campbell,  Bartley,  155. 
"  Canuck,"  Wilton  Lackaye 

in,  172. 
"Caprice,"   William    Faver- 

sham  in,  106. 


"  Captain  Lettarblair,"  E.  H. 

Sothern  in,  80. 
"Captain   of    the    Watch," 

John  Drew  in,  89. 
"  Captain  Swift," 

Holland,  E.  M.,  63,  67. 
Jewett,  Henry,  222. 
"  Coriolanus,"  Otis  Skinner 

in,  269. 

Carte,  D'Oyly,  49,  52. 
Carter,  Mrs.  Leslie,  326. 
Cartlitch,  John  G.,  230. 
"  Caste,"  E.  M.  Holland  in, 

65. 
"Castle  Sombras,"  Richard 

Mansfield  in,  56. 
Cavendish,  Ada,  192. 
Cecil,  Arthur,  279. 
"Celebrated  Case," 

O'Neill,  James,  145. 

Reed,  Roland,  309. 

"Change     Alley,"     E.     H. 

Sothern  in,  81. 
"  Charles  O'Malley,"  Wilton 

Lackaye  in,  173. 
"Cheek,"  Roland  Reed  in, 


"  Chevalier      de      Vaudry," 

Henry  Jewett  in,  218. 
"Child   of   the   Regiment," 

William  Gillette  in,  182. 
"  Christian," 

Haworth,  Joseph,  325. 
Jewett,  Henry,  211,  222. 
Mason,   John   B.,    no, 

116. 
"  Christopher,     Jr.,"      John 

Drew  in,  92. 
"Cinderella  at  School,"  N. 

C.  Goodwin  in,  131. 
Clarke,  Annie,  113,  242. 


338 


Index. 


Clarke,  Creston,  275. 

Clarke,  George,  291. 

Clarke,  John  Sleeper,  228, 
230. 

Clayton,  Estelle,  78. 

"Cleopatra"  (Sardou's),  Mel- 
bourne MacDowell  in,  238, 

239- 
"  Club      Friend,"       Roland 

Reed  in,  310. 
Coghlan,    Rose,    169,    172, 

220. 
"  Colleen     Bawn,"      Henry 

Jewettin,  218. 

"  Colonel  Carter  of  Carters- 
ville,"  E.  M.  Holland  in, 
67. 
"  Colonel  Tom," 

Goodwin,  N.  C.,  134. 
Lackaye,  Wilton,  172. 
"  Colonial  Girl,"  E.  H.  Soth- 

ern  in,  81. 
"  Comedy  of  Errors," 

Crane,  W.  H.,  163,  233, 

234- 
Robson,     Stuart,     163, 

233,  234,  237. 

"Confusion,"  N.   C.    Good- 
win in,  133. 
"Conquerors,"     William 

Faversham  in,  97. 
"  Cool  as  a  Cucumber,"  John 

Drew  in,  89. 
Coquelin,  314. 
Corcoran,  Katherine,  28. 
"  Corsair,"  N.  C.  Goodwin  in, 

I3I- 
"  Corsican  Brothers," 

Jewett,  Henry,  218. 

Mantell,  R.  B.,  294. 
Couldock,  C.  W.,  190. 


"Councillor's  Wife,"  Wil- 
liam Faversham  in,  107. 

"  Country  Girl,"  John  Drew 
in,  91. 

"Courtship  of  Leonie,"  J. 
K.  Hackett  in,  209. 

"  Cowboy  and  the  Lady,"  N. 
C.  Goodwin  in,  134. 

Craig,  Robert,  302,  304. 

Crampton,  Charlotte,  317, 
320. 

Crane,  William  H.,  131,  145, 
I49>  233. 

"  Cricket  on  the  Hearth," 
Joseph  Jefferson  in,  14, 15. 

"  Crown  of  Thorns," 

Gillette,  William,  182. 
Haworth,  Joseph,  319. 

"  Crust  of  Society,"  Joseph 
Haworth  in,  325. 

Cushman,  Charlotte,  142. 

"  Cymbeline," 

Jewett,  Henry,  217. 
Miller,  Henry,  192. 

"  Cyrano  de  Bergerac,"  Rich- 
ard Mansfield  in,  36, 39,  56. 

"  Dakolar,"  R.  B.  Mantell  in, 
294. 

Daly,  Augustin,  84,  90,  91, 
172,  192,  202,  208,  237, 
256,  257,  271,  291,  308, 

309>  3l8- 
"  Dancing  Girl," 

Lackaye,  Wilton,  173. 
Sothern,  E.  H.,  80. 
"  Danicheffs,"  James  O'Neill 

in,  145- 
"  Danites," 

Holland,  E.  M.,  66. 
Jewett,  Henry,  215. 


Index. 


339 


Darrell,  George,  216. 

"  Daughterof  the  Regiment," 

W.  H.  Crane  in,  152. 
Dauvray,  Helen,  78. 
Davenport,    E.    L.,    28,    65, 

308. 

Davenport,   Fanny,  91,  171, 
216,   222,    238,  247,   288, 
290,  293,  294,  304. 
Davenport,  May,  113. 
"  David  Garrick," 

Goodwin,  N.  C.,  134. 
Sothern,  E.  H.,  75. 
"  Day  after  the  Fair,"  E.  M. 

Holland  in,  64. 
"  Deacon  Crankett,"  James 

O'Neill  in,  148. 
"  Dead  Heart," 

Lackaye,  Wilton,  172. 
O'Neill,  James,  137. 
"  Dead  Shot,"  W.  H.  Crane 

in,  154- 

DeBar,  Ben,  181. 
DeGray,  Marie,  99,  293. 
Denning,  Susan,  27. 
"  Devil's  Disciple,"  Richard 

Mansfield  in,  56. 
Dickinson,  Anna,  318. 
Dick  Swiveller, 

Crane,  W.  H.,  157. 
Faversham,  William,  1 02. 
"Dinner   at  Eight,"    E.    M. 

Holland  in,  67. 
"  Diplomacy," 

Drew,  John,  91. 
Jewett,  Henry,  217,  220. 
Kelcey,  Herbert,  332. 
"  Disciple,"  J.  E.  Dodson  in, 

286. 

"  District  Attorney,"  Wilton 
Lackaye  in,  173. 


"Divorce,"  W.  H.  Crane  in, 
•  156. 

Dixey,  Henry  E.,  131. 

Dodson,  J.  E.,  278. 

"  Dollars  and  Sense,"  John 
Drew  in,  92. 

"Dool's  House,"  William 
Faversham  in,  106. 

"  Domestic  Earthquakes,"  E. 
H.  Sothern  in,  77. 

"  Dominie's  Daughter,"  Her- 
bert Kelcey  in,  333. 

"  Don  Carlos  de  Seville,"  148. 

"  Don  Juan,"  Richard  Mans- 
field in,  56. 

«  Dr.  Belgraff ,"  Wilton  Lack- 
aye  in,  173. 

"Dr.  Bill,"  Wilton  Lackaye 
in,  173- 

Drew,  John,  84,  192,  193. 

Drew,  John,  Sr.,  89,  230. 

Drew,  Mrs.  John,  89,  230, 
297,  304. 

"  Drifting  Apart,"  James  A. 
Herne  in,  30. 

«Dr.  Jekyll  and  Mr.  Hyde," 
Richard  Mansfield  in,  54. 

Dr.  Pangloss, "  Heir-at-law," 
Joseph  Jefferson  as,  13, 15, 
1 6. 

Duff,  James,  256. 

"  Duke's  Motto,"  Melbourne 
MacDowell  in,  244. 

Durbin,  Maud,  276. 

"  Edgewood  Folks,"  Sol 
Smith  Russell  in,  257. 

"Editha's  Burglar,"  E.  H. 
Sothern  in,  79. 

"  Elaine,"  E.  M.  Holland  in, 
67. 


340 


Index. 


Elliott,  Arthur,  216. 
Elliott,  Maxine,  135. 
Elliston,  Maude,  102. 
Ellsler,  Effie,  318,  319. 
Ellsler,  John,  141,  308,  318, 

3i9- 

Emmett,  J.  K.,  282,  283. 

Empire  Theatre,  94, 107, 194. 

"Enchantment,"  Otis  Skin- 
ner in,  270. 

"  Enemy  to  the  King,"  E.  H. 
Sothern  in,  81. 

"  Engaged,"  Herbert  Kelcey 
in,  333- 

"  Envoy,"  James  O'Neill  in, 

J37- 
"  Esmeralda," 

Gillette,  William,  185. 

Holland,  E.  M.,  67. 
"  Evangeline," 

Crane,  W.  H.,  155,  159. 

Goodwin,  N.  C.,  130. 

"  Face  in  the  Moonlight,"  R. 

B.  Mantell  in,  294. 
"Faint    Heart  Never  Won 

Fair  Lady,"  William  Gil- 
lette in,  182. 
"Faust"    (opera),    W.    H. 

Crane  in,  154. 
"  Faust "     (play),     Henry 

Jewett  in,  218. 
Faversham,  William,  94. 
"Favette,"  E.    H.   Sothern 

in,  78. 
"Favourite,"  Henry  Jewett 

in,  219. 
"  Featherbrain," 

Faversham,    William, 

106. 
Lackaye,  Wilton,  172. 


Fechter,    Charles,  138,  284, 

3°4- 
"  Fedora," 

Lackaye,   Wilton,    171. 
MacDowell,  Melbourne, 

238. 
Mantell,  R.  B.,  288,  289, 

294. 
"  Felix       McKusick,"      Sol 

Smith  Russell  in,  258. 
Ferguson,  W.  J.,  102. 
"  Firefly,"  Roland   Reed  in, 

302. 

"  First      G  e  n  t  le  m  a  n      of 
Europe,"   J.   K.    Hackett 
in,  210. 
"  First      Violin,"      Richard 

Mansfield  in,  56. 
Fiske,  Minnie  Maddern,  54, 

106,  172,  193. 

"Flirtation,"    Herbert    Kel- 
cey in,  332. 

Florence,  William,  15. 
"  Flower  Girl  of  Paris,"  W. 

H.  Crane  in,  155. 
"  Fontenelle,"  James  O'Neill 

in,  137- 

Forbes,  Charles,  245. 
"  Forbidden  Fruit," 

Crane,  W.  H.,  163. 
Mantell,  R.  B.,  292. 
Robson,  Stuart,  163. 
Ford,  John  T.,  141,  230. 
Forrest,  Edwin,  139,  141. 
"Foundling,"   E.    M.    Hol- 
land in,  68. 
"Fra     Diavolo,"     W.      H. 

Crane  in,  155. 
"  Francesca  da  Rimini," 
Lackaye,  Wilton,  171. 
Skinner,  Otis,  271. 


Index. 


341 


"  Frederic  Lemaitre," Henry 

Miller  in,  194. 
"  French  Flats," 

Holland,  E.  M.,  66. 
Mansfield,  Richard,  53. 
"Friend     Fritz,"    John     B. 

Mason  in,  1 1 6. 
"  Fritz,"  J.    E.    Dodson    in, 

282. 
Frohman,    Charles,    59,   78, 

94,  194,  286. 
Frohman,    Daniel,    58,    66, 

67,  78,  103,  193,  209,  294, 

326,  333; 
Fuller,  Loie,  132. 
Fyles,  Frankly n,  195. 

"  Gasparone,"  Richard  Mans- 
field in,  53. 

Gilbert,  John,  65. 

Gilbert,  W.  S.,  51. 

"  Gilded  Age,"  William  Gil- 
lette in,  182. 

«  Gilded  Fool,"  N.  C.  Good- 
win in,  134. 

Gillette,  Hon.  Francis,  178. 

Gillette,  William,  174. 

"  Gladiator,"  Joseph  Ha- 
worth  in,  321. 

Golden,  Richard,  131. 

"Gold  Mine,"  N.  C.  Good- 
win in,  121,  132, 134. 

Goodwin,  N.  C.,  114, 119. 

"  Governor  of  Kentucky," 
W.  H.  Crane  in,  164. 

"  Great  Unknown,"  Wilton 
Lackaye  in,  172. 

"  Griffith  Davenport,"  James 
A.  Herne  in,  18. 

"Gudgeons,"  Henry  Miller 
in,  195. 


"Guv'nor,"  John  B.  Mason 

in,  114. 
"  Guy  Mannering,"  William 

Gillette  in,  182. 

Hackett,  James  H.,  205. 
Hackett,     James     K.,     200, 

326. 

Hackett,  Mrs.  Clara  C.,  206. 
"  Hamlet," 

Drew,  John,  90. 

Faversham,  William, 
101. 

Gillette,  William,  182. 

Goodwin,  N.  C.,  133. 

Haworth,  Joseph,   311, 

319- 

Mantell,  R.  B.,  291,  294. 
Miller,  Henry,  199. 
O'Neill,  James,  138. 
Reed,  Roland,  309. 
Skinner,  Otis,  271,  272, 

275- 
"Hands   Across    the    Sea," 

John  B.  Mason  in,  115. 
Hann,  T.  R.,  305. 
Hapgood,  Norman,  107. 
"  Harbour  Lights,"  Herbert 

Kelcey  in,  333. 
Hare,  John,  286. 
Harned,  Virginia,  83. 
Harris,  Augustus,  281. 
Harrison,  Maude,  162. 
"  Harvest,"  Herbert  Kelcey 

in»  333- 

Hastings,  Frances,  218. 
Hastings,  Helen,  102. 
Haworth,  Joseph,  211,  311. 
Hawthorne,  Grace,  145. 
"  Hazel  Kirke," 

Holland,  E.  M.,  66. 


342 


Index. 


MacDowell,  Melbourne, 

245- 

Mason,  John  B.,  1 1 5. 
"  Head  of  the  Family,"  W. 

H.  Crane  in,  164. 
"  Heart  and  Hands,"  J.  K. 

Hackett  in,  208. 
"Heart  of   Hearts,"  E.  M. 

Holland  in,  67. 
"  Heart  of  Maryland,"  Her- 
bert Kelcey  in,  326. 
"  Hearts  of  Oak,"  James  A. 

Herne  in,  30. 
"Hearts     of     Steel,"     Otis 

Skinner  in,  270. 
"  Heartsease,"  Henry  Miller 

in,  195. 
"  Heir-at-Law," 

Jefferson,     Joseph,    13, 

15,  16. 

Reed,  Roland,  309. 
Russell,  Sol  Smith,  259. 
"  Held  by  the  Enemy,"  Wil- 
liam Gillette  in.  174,  186, 
188. 

Henley,  E.  J.,  219. 
"  Henrietta," 

Crane,  W.  H.,  163,  233, 

235- 
Robson,     Stuart,      163, 

233>  235- 

Herne,  James  A.,  18. 
"  Hidden  Hand,"  Sol  Smith 

Russell  in,  253. 
«  Highest  Bidder," 

Faversham,  William, 

103. 

Sothern,  E.  H.,  79. 
Hill,  Barton,  1 56. 
"  His  Father's  Boy,"  Roland 
Reed  in,  310. 


"  His  Grace  de  Grammont," 

Otis  Skinner  in,  274. 
"His    Honour  the  Mayor," 

W.  H.  Crane  in,  164. 
"  Hobbies,"  N.  C.  Goodwin 

in,  131,  132. 
Holland,  E.  M.,  58. 
Holland,  George,  63. 
Holland,     Joseph,     58,    62, 

68. 
"  Home,"  J.  E.  Dodson  in, 

286. 
"  Home  from  School,"  N.  C. 

Goodwin  in,  130. 
"  Home    Secretary,"   J.    K. 

Hackett  in,  209. 
"Hon.  John  Grigsby,"   Sol 

Smith  Russell  in,  259. 
"Hoodman   Blind,"   Joseph 

Haworth  in,  325. 
Howard,  Bronson,  235,  236. 
"  Human    Nature,"     Henry 

Jewett  in,  217. 
"Humbug,"    Roland    Reed 

in,  309. 
"  Hunchback," 

Drew,  John,  90. 
Gillette,  William,  182. 
Goodwin,  N.  C.,  133. 
Jewett,  Henry,  220. 

"  Idler,"  John  B.  Mason  in, 

«> 

"  If  I  Were  You,"  John  B. 
Mason  in,  116. 

"  Inconstant,"  John  Drew  in, 
1 1 6. 

"  Ingomar,"  Henry  Jewett 
in,  220. 

"  In  Mizzoura,"  N.  C.  Good- 
win in,  134. 


Index. 


343 


"  Innocent  as  a  Lamb,"  Ro- 
land Reed  in,  310. 

"  In  Spite  of  All," 

Faversham,  William, 

1 06. 
Mansfield,  Richard,  54. 

"Invisible  Prince,"  W.  H. 
Crane  in,  154. 

"  lolanthe,"  Richard  Mans- 
field in,  52. 

"  Iron  Mask,"  Melbourne 
MacDowell  in,  245. 

"  Iron  Master,"  J.  E.  Dod- 
son  in,  286. 

Irving,  Sir  Henry,  36,  54, 
137,  190,  3H- 

"  Is  Marriage  a  Failure," 
Stuart  Robson  in,  236. 

"It's  Never  too  Late  to 
Mend,"  J.  E.  Dodson  in, 
284. 

"It  Was  a  Dream,"  J.  E. 
Dodson  in,  286. 

Jack,  John,  219. 

"  Jack  and  Gill,"  J.  E.  Dod- 
son in,  282. 

James,  Louis,  268,  304. 

Janauschek,  Madame,  268. 

Jefferson,  Cornelia,  231. 

Jefferson,  Joseph,  n,  64,  79, 
89, 150,  249,  276,  282,  283. 

Jenyns,  Essie,  217. 

Jewett,  Henry,  211. 

Jim  Crow,  Joseph  Jefferson 
as,  13. 

"Jim  the  Penman," 

Holland,  E.  M.,  63,  67. 
Lackaye,  Wilton,  173. 

"  Joan  of  Arc,"  Henry  Jew- 
ett in,  222. 


"  Jocelyn,"  Wilton  Lackaye 

in,  169. 
"  John-a-Dreams," 

Dodson,  J.  E.,  287. 
Faversham,  William, 

107. 
"  John  Wopps,   Policeman," 

Stuart  Robson  in,  231. 
"  Joseph's  Sweetheart,"  John 

B.  Mason  in,  114. 
"  Julius  Caesar," 

Goodwin,  N.  C.,  133. 
Haworth,  Joseph,  318. 
Jewett,  Henry,  218,  222. 
O'Neill,  James,  143. 
Skinner,  Otis,  271. 

"Kate     Kearney,"    W.  H. 
Crane  in,  154. 

"  Katherine  and  Petruchio," 
William  Gillette  in,  182. 

"Katherine    Kavanagh,"    J. 
E.  Dodson  in,  286. 

Keene,  Laura,  254. 

Keene,  Thomas  W.,  156. 

Kelcey,  Herbert,  209,  326. 

Kendal,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  278, 
283,  285. 

"  Kenilworth,"  R.   B.    Man- 
tell  in,  293. 

"Kerry    Gow,"    Melbourne 
MacDowell  in,  245. 

Kidder,  Kathryn,  209. 

"  King      Carrott,"       Stuart 
Robson  in,  232. 

Kingdon,  Edith,  271. 

"  King  of  Peru," 

Jewett,  Henry,  220. 
Mansfield,  Richard,  56. 

"  King's  Jester,"  Otis  Skin- 
ner in,  274. 


344 


Index. 


"  King  Turko,"  William  Gil- 
lette in,  182. 

"King's  Musketeer,"  E.  H. 
Sothern  in,  82. 

"  Kleptomania,"  J.  E.  Dod- 
son  in,  282. 

Knight,  George,  292. 

Kraighne,  Ella,  156. 

Lackaye,  Wilton,  166. 

"  Ladies'  Battle,"  J.  E.  Dod- 

son  in,  286. 
"  Lady  Gladys,"  J.  K.  Hack- 

ett  in,  208. 
"  Lady  of  Lyons," 

Dodson,  J.  E.,  281. 
Drew,  John,  89,  90. 
Faversham,  William, 

101. 

Mantell,  R.  B.,  294. 

Sothern,  E.  H.,  81. 

"  Lady  Windermere's  Fan," 

Holland,  E.  M.,  68. 

Lackaye,  Wilton,  173. 

"Last  Word,"   John   Drew 

in,  92. 
"  Late  Mr.  Costello,"  J.  K. 

Hackett  in,  210. 
« La     Tosca,"      Melbourne 

MacDowell  in,  238,  247. 
"  Laughing    Hyena,"    John 

Drew  in,  89. 
"  Law  in  New  York," 

Goodwin,    N.    C.,   119, 

129. 

Robson,  Stuart,  232. 
Leake,  W.  H.,  215. 
"  Leavenworth    Case,"    Jo- 
seph  Haworth  in,   325. 
LeClerq,  Charlotte,  101. 
"  Led  Astray," 


Crane,  W.  H.,  156. 
Robson,  Stuart,  233. 
Lee,  Jennie,  219. 
"  L'Elisir  d'Amore,"  W.  H. 

Crane  in,  155. 
"Lend  Me  Five  Shillings," 

N.  C.  Goodwin  in,  134. 
"  Lend  Me  Your  Wife,"  Ro- 
land Reed  in,  310. 
"  Lesbia,"     Richard    Mans- 
field in,  55. 
Leslie,  Elsie,  79,  106. 
"Lesson  in  Acting,"  R.  B. 

Mantell,  294. 
Lewis,  James,  90,  192,  257, 

308. 

"  Liberty  Hall,"  Henry  Mil- 
ler in,  195. 
"Liars," 

Drew,  John,  92,  93. 

Miller,  Henry,  199. 

"  Lights  o'  London,"  Henry 

Jewett  in,  216,  217,  218. 
"  Little  Jack    Shepard,"  N. 

C.  Goodwin  in,  132. 
"  Little  Rebel,"  N.  C.  Good- 
win in,  130. 
"Limerick     Boy,"    W.    H. 

Crane  in,  154. 
"  Loan  of  a  Lover,"  William 

Faversham  in,  101. 
"  London  Assurance," 
Crane,  W.  H.,  156. 
Drew,  John,  89. 
"  Lord  and  Lady  Algy," 

Faversham,  William, 

,  107. 

Miller,  Henry,  199. 
"Lord     Chumley,"    E.    H. 

Sothern  in,  79. 
Lotta,  207,  302. 


Index. 


345 


"Lottery    of    Love,"    John 
Drew  in,  92. 

"  Louisianian,"  R.  B.  Man- 
tell,  294. 

"  Love  Chase," 

Jewett,  Henry,  220. 
Sothern,  E.  H.,  78. 

"  Love   in    Tandem,"    John 
Drew  in,  92. 

"Love's    Labours     Lost," 
John  Drew  in,  91. 

"Lucretia   Borgia,"  Roland 
Reed  in,  305. 

Lyceum   Theatre,  193,  202, 
209,  271,  294,  326,  333. 

"Lyons  Mail,"  Henry  J 


ew- 


ett  in,  222. 


«  Macbeth," 

Gillette,  William,  182. 
Miller,  Henry,  191. 
O'Neill,  James,  142. 
Skinner,  Otis,  268,  272, 

274. 
MacDowell,     E.     A.,     239, 

242. 
MacDowell,  Melbourne,  216, 

238. 
"  Madame  Sans-Gene,"  J.  K. 

Hackett  in,  209. 
Maddern,  Minnie  (see  Min- 
nie Maddern  Fiske). 
Madison     Square    Theatre, 

58,  67,  185,  192,  333. 
Maeder,  Clara  Fisher,  304. 
"Magda,"   Otis  Skinner  in, 

274. 
"  Magistrate,"  J.  E.  Dodson 

in,  279. 

Maguinness,  Dan,  271. 
Maier,  Joseph,  113. 


"Maister  of  Woodbarrow," 
E.  H.  Sothern  in,  80. 

Malone,  John,  222. 

Mannering,  Mary,  210. 

"Man  with  a  Past,"  E.  M. 
Holland  in,  68. 

Manola,  Marion,  115. 

Mansfield,  Richard,  36,  220, 

222. 

"  Manteaux  Noirs,"  Richard 

Mansfield  in,  52. 
Mantell,    Robert     B.,     191, 

288. 
«  Marble  Heart," 

Gillette,  William,  182. 
Mantell,  R.  B.,  294. 
"  Margaret  Fleming,"  James 

A.  Herne  in,  30. 
"  Marie  Antoinette,"  Henry 

Jewett  in,  218. 
Marlowe,  Julia,  219. 
"Marquise,"   Henry    Miller 

in,  194. 
"  Marriage  of  Convenience," 

John  Drew  in,  92. 
"Married   in  Haste,"   Will- 
iam Gillette  in,  182. 
"Married     Life,"     W.     H. 

Crane,   156. 

Marshall,  Wyzeman,  128. 
"Martyr,"   E.   M.    Holland 

in,  67. 
"  Mary  Stuart," 

Jewett,  Henry,  218. 

Skinner,  Otis,  274. 

"  Masked  Ball,"  John  Drew 

in,  85,  92. 
"Masks    and    Faces,"    Sol 

Smith  Russell,  257. 
Mason,  John  B.,  96,  1 10. 
Mason,  Lowell,  112. 


346 


Index. 


"  Masqueraders," 

Dodson,  J.  E.,  287. 
Faversham,       William 

107. 
Miller,  Henry,  195. 

"  Master,"  Henry  Miller  in, 

J95- 

Mather,  Margaret,  273. 
Mathews,  Charles,  65,  292. 
"  Mayblossom,"     Wilton 

Lackaye  in,  171. 
"  Mayflower,"  J.  K.  Hackett 

in,  171. 
McCullough,  John,   72,  73, 

75,    156,    268,    269,    320, 

321. 

McHenery,  Nellie,  155. 
McVicker's  Theatre,  31,  142, 

i45»  l69>  3°8»  321- 
"  Measure      for     Measure," 

Henry  Miller  in,  192. 
"Meddler,"  Stuart   Robson 

in,  237. 
"  Member    from     Slocum," 

N.  C.  Goodwin  in,  132. 
"  Merchant  of  Venice," 
Lackaye,  Wilton,  171. 
Mansfield,  Richard,  56. 
Reed,  Roland,  309. 
Skinner,  Otis,  261,  271, 

272,  274. 

"  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor," 
Crane,  W.  H.,  163,  233, 

234- 

Drew,  John,  91. 
Jewett,  Henry,  222. 
Robson,     Stuart,    163, 

233»   234- 

Mestayer,  W.  A.,  156. 
"Met    by   Chance,"   E.    H. 
Sothern  in,  78. 


"  Michael  and  His  Lost  An- 
gel,"    Henry    Miller    in, 

195- 

"Midsummer      Night's 
Dream," 

Drew,  John,  91. 

Lackaye,  Wilton,  169. 
"  Mikado," 

Mansfield,  Richard,  54. 

Reed,  Roland,  310. 
Miller,  Henry,  107,  190. 
Millward,  Jessie,  172. 
Miln,  George  C.,  221. 
Milton,  E.,  E.   M.  Holland 

known  as,  65. 
"  Minute  Man,"    James     A. 

Herne  in,  30. 
«  Miron,"  R.  B.  Mantell  in, 

293- 

Mitchell,  Madame,  128. 
Mitchell,  Maggie,  254. 
"Mixed     Pickles,"     J.     K. 

Hackett  in,  208. 
Modjeska,      Helena,      191, 

272,  274,  275,  292. 
"  Mona,"  E.  H.  Sothern  in, 

78. 
"Monbars,"   R.  B.   Mantell 

in,  294. 
"  Money," 

Mason,  John  B.,  115. 
Reed,  Roland,  309. 
'  Money      Mad,"      Wilton 

Lackaye   in,    172. 
'  Money  Spinner," 

Dodson,  J.  E.,  286. 
Jewett,  Henry,  217. 
'  Monsieur,"  Richard  Mans- 
field in,  54. 
<  Monte      Cristo,"     James 

O'Neill  in,    136,    138. 


Index, 


347 


Morgan,  Edward  J.,  199,  210. 
Morris,  Felix,  194. 
"Moth    and     the    Flame," 
Herbert   Kelcey  in,   326. 
"  Mother  -  in  -  Law,"    E.    M. 

Holland  in,  66. 
"  Moths," 

Faversham,  William, 

101. 

Kelcey,  Herbert,  333. 
Mounet- Sully,  37. 
"  Mr.  Wilkinson's  Widows," 
Gillette,  William,  187. 
Lackaye,  Wilton,  173. 
"Much    Ado    about   Noth- 
ing," 

Jewett,  Henry,  220. 
Lackaye,  Wilton,  171. 
Mantell,  R.  B.,  293. 
Murdoch,  Harry,  183. 
Murdoch,  James  E.,  256. 
Murphy,  Joseph,  245. 
"Musketeer  s,"     James 

O'Neill  in,    138. 
"My   Jack,"  Wilton  Lack- 
aye  in,  172. 

"My  Partner,"  Henry  Jew- 
ett in,  218. 

"  My  Precious  Betsy,"  Will- 
iam Gillette  in,  182. 
"My  Uncle's  Will,"  Henry 
Jewett  in,  219. 

"  Naked      Truth,"      Henry 

Jewett  in,  216. 
"  Nancy  &  Co." 

Drew,  John,  92. 
Jewett,  Henry,  219. 
"Nathan    Hale,"   N.    C. 

Goodwin  in,  122,  134. 
Neilson,  Adelaide,  192,  240. 


"  Nero,"  Wilton  Lackaye  in, 

172. 

Nethersole,  Olga,  68. 
"  New  Blood," 

Holland,  E.  M.,  68. 
Lackaye,  Wilton,  173. 
"  New    Way    to    Pay    Old 
Debts,"  E.  M.  Holland  in, 
65. 
"  New  Women," 

Holland,  E.  M.,  68. 
Lackaye,  Wilton,  173. 
"  Night  Off," 

Drew,  John,  92. 
Jewett,  Henry,  219. 
"Ninety      Days,"    William 

Gillette  in,  187. 
"Nita's      First,"    E.     H. 

Sothern  in,  78. 
Noah,  Rachel,  271. 
Nolan,  Barney,  243. 
"  Nominee,"  N.  C.  Goodwin 
in,  134. 

"  Octoroon," 

Jefferson,  Joseph,  14. 
Reed,  Roland,  305. 
"  Odette,"  Henry  Miller  in, 

192. 

"Old    Heads    and     Young 
Hearts," 

Kelcey,  Herbert,  333. 
Robson,  Stuart,  230. 
"Old   Love  Letters,"  Her- 
bert Kelcey  in,  333. 
"Oliver  Twist,"   James  A. 

Herne  in,  28. 

"  On  and  Off,"  E.  M.  Hol- 
land in,  59,  63. 
"On     Probation,"    W.     H. 
Crane  in,  164. 


348 


Index. 


"  One  of  Our  Girls,"  E.  H. 

Sothern  in,  78. 
"  One  Summer's  Day,"  John 

Drew  in,  92. 

O'Neill,  James,  136,  155. 
"  Othello,"  38. 

Gillette,  William,  182. 

Hackett,  J.  K.,  206. 

Jewett,  Henry,  222. 

Mantell,  R.  B.,  293,  294. 

O'Neill,  James,  143. 
"  Our  American  Cousin," 

Jefferson,  Joseph,  14. 

Sothern,  E.  H.,  75. 
"Our  Bachelors," 

Crane,  W.  H.,  163,  234. 

Robson,     Stuart,     163, 

234- 

"  Our  Boarding  House," 
Crane,  W.  H.,  157,  233. 
Robson,     Stuart,     157, 

233- 

"Our  Boys,"  John  B.  Ma- 
son in,  115. 

"  Our  Society,"  Herbert 
Kelcey  in,  333. 

Owens,  John,  228. 

Owen,  William  F.,  222. 

"  Pa,"  Sol  Smith  Russell 
in,  258. 

"  Pair  of  Spectacles,"  E.  M. 
Holland  in,  67. 

Palmer,  A.  M.,  58,  66,  67, 
107,  145,  158,  173,  186, 
192,  202,  207. 

Palmer,  Minnie,  130. 

"  Parisian  Romance,"  Rich- 
ard Mansfield  in,  52. 

"  Parrhasius,"  R.  B.  Mantell 
in,  294. 


"  Partners,"  E.  M.  Holland 

in,  67. 
"Passion      Play,"     James 

O'Neill  in,  145. 
Pastor,  Tony,  130. 
"  Paul  and  Virginia,"  R.  B. 

Mantell  in,  293. 
"  Paul  Kauvar," 

Haworth,   Joseph,  325. 
Lackaye,   Wilton,    169, 

172. 

"Peaceful  Valley,"  Sol 
Smith  Russell  in,  248, 

259- 
Peake  Family  Bell  Ringers, 

Sol    Smith   Russell  with, 

254. 
Pease,  Mrs.  Nella  Baker, 

'35- 

"Peg  Woffington,"  E.  H. 
Sothern  in,  78. 

"  Pembertons,"  Wilton  Lack- 
aye  in,  172. 

"Pen  and  Ink,"  William 
Faversham  in,  102. 

"Peter  White,"  Roland 
Reed  in,  301. 

"  Phroso,"  William  Faver- 
sham in,  97. 

"  Pinafore,"  Richard  Mans- 
field in,  51. 

"  Pink  Dominoes,"  Henry 
Jewett  in,  219,  222. 

"  Pink  Mask,"  J.  K.  Hackett 
in,  208. 

"Pique,"  John  Drew  in,  91. 

Pitt,  H.  M.,  192. 

Plympton,  Eben,  222,  240. 

"Politician,"  Roland  Reed 
in,  310. 

Polk,  J.  B.,  216. 


Index. 


349 


Pomeroy,  Louise,  215,  216. 

"Pompadou  r,"  Wilton 
Lackaye  in,  173. 

"  Poor  Gentleman,"  Roland 
Reed  in,  309. 

"  Poor  Relation,"  Sol  Smith 
Russell  in,  247,  259. 

Potter,  Mrs.  James  Brown, 
209. 

"  Power  of  the  Press,"  Wil- 
ton Lackaye  in,  173. 

Price,  Lizzie,  304,  306. 

Price,  Mark,  271. 

"Price  of  Silence,"  Wilton 
Lackaye  in,  173. 

"Prince  and  the  Pauper," 
William  Faversham  in, 
1 06. 

"  Prince  K  a  r  1,"  Richard 
Mansfield  in,  54. 

"  Princess  and  the  Butter- 
fly," J.  K.  Hackett  in, 
210. 

"  Prisoner  of  Zenda," 

Hackett,    J.    K.,     200, 

209. 
Sothern,  E.  H.,  81. 

"  Private  Secretary," 

Gillette,   William,    174, 

I75»  186. 

Hackett,  J.  K.,  208. 
Holland,  E.  M.,  67. 

"Professor,"  William  Gil- 
lette in,  285. 

"  Pygmalion  and  Galatea," 
J.  E.  Dodson  in,  281. 

"  Queen   Elizabeth,"  Henry 

Jewett  in,  218. 
"  Queen's  Evidence,"  Henry 

Jewett  in,  217. 


"Queen's     Garter,"    R.    B. 

Mantell  in,  294. 
"  Queen's  Necklace,"  J.  K. 

Hackett  in,  209. 
"Queen's  Shilling,"  J.  E. 

Dodson  in,  286. 
Quilp,  William  Faversham 

as,  1 02. 

"Railroad   of   Love,"   John 

Drew  in,  92. 
"  Rajah,"  E.  M.  Holland  in, 

67. 

Rankin,  McKee,  58,  66. 
Raymond,  John  T.,  182,  268, 

310. 
"  Red  Signal,"  Otis  Skinner 

in,  272. 

Reed,  German,  49. 
Reed,  John  Roland,  299. 
Reed,  Roland,  297. 
Reeve,  Wybert,  217. 
Rehan,  Ada,  91,  192,  193. 
Rehan,  Arthur,  208. 
"  Retribution,"  William  Gil- 
lette in,  182. 

"  Rev.  Griffith  Davenport  " 
(see  « Griffith  Daven- 
port"). 

Rice,  Edward  E.,  131. 
"Richard   II.,"  John   Drew 

in,  90. 
"  Richard  III.," 

Haworth,  Joseph,  311, 

312,317. 

Mansfield,  Richard,  55. 
Sothern,  E.  H.,  73. 
"  Richelieu," 

Drew,  John,  90. 
Haworth,  Joseph,  311, 


350 


Index. 


O'Neill,     James,     138, 

142. 

Skinner,  Otis,  270,  272. 
Rignold,  George,  218. 
"  Rinaldo,"  Joseph  Haworth 

in,  311. 

"  Rip  Van  Winkle," 
Dodson,  J.  E.,  282. 
Holland,  E.  M.,  65. 
Jefferson,    Joseph,    14, 

15,  16. 

"Rip  Van  Winkle"  (opera), 
Richard  Mansfield  in,  52. 
"  Rivals," 

Goodwin,  N.  C.,  134. 
Jefferson,    Joseph,    15, 

16. 

Mason,  John  B.,  in. 
Reed,  Roland,  309. 
Robson,  Stuart,  231. 
"  Road  to  Ruin," 

Holland,  E.  M.,  65. 
MacDowell,     M.,     242, 

243- 

Robinson,  Frederick,  207. 
Robson,   Stuart,    119,    128, 

129,  157,  163,  223,  304. 
"  Roger  La  Houte,"  Wilton 

Lackaye  in,  172. 
"  Romany  Rye," 

Jewett,  Henry,  218. 
Mantell,  R.  B.,  293. 
"  Romeo  and  Juliet," 

Faversham,  William, 

95»98. 

Gillette,  William,  182. 
Hackett,  J.  K.,  201,  203. 
Jewett,  Henry,  217,  220. 
Mantell,     R.     B.,     293, 

294. 
Miller,  Henry,  192. 


O'Neill,  James,  143. 

Skinner,  Otis,  273. 
«  Rosedale," 

Crane,  W.  H.,  154. 

Haworth,  Joseph,  311. 

Mason,  John  B.,  114. 
"  Rosemary," 

Drew,  John,  92. 

Skinner,  Otis,  261,  276. 
"Rough  Diamond,"  W.  H. 

Crane  in,  156. 
"Royal    Revenge,"    N.    C. 

Goodwin  in,  133. 
Rudersdorff,  Emma,  45. 
"  Rupert  of  Hentzau,"  J.  K. 
Hackett  in,  201,  204,  210. 
Russell,  Sol  Smith,  248. 

"  Saints  and  Sinners," 
Holland,  E.  M.,  67. 
Lackaye,  Wilton,  173. 
Salvini,  Tomasso,  37,  143. 
Salisbury,  Nate,  155. 
"Sam,"   E.  H.  Sothern  in, 

71. 
"  Saratoga,"  James   O'Neill 

in,  142. 
"  Satan    in    Paris,"    Joseph 

Haworth  in,  320. 
"  Scarlet    Letter,"    Richard 

Mansfield  in,  56. 
"Scrap   of    Paper,"    E.   H. 

Sothern  in,  78. 
"  Scenes  from   the   Life   of 

Napoleon  Bonaparte," 

Richard  Mansfield  in,  56. 
Schoeffel,  Mrs.  Agnes  Booth, 

193,  207. 
"  School," 

Crane,  W.  H.,  156. 
Holland,  E.  M.,  65. 


Index. 


351 


"  School  for  Scandal," 
Drew,  John,  87,  92. 
Faversham,       William, 

101. 

Kelcey,  Herbert,  333. 
Mason,    John   B.,   HI, 

113,  114. 

Mantell,  R.  B.,  293. 
Russell,  Sol  Smith,  257. 
"  Schoolmistress,"  J.  E.  Dod- 

son  in,  279. 
Scott,  Clement,  115. 
"  Scrap  of  Paper,"  J.  E.  Dod- 

son  in,  286. 
"  Sealed     Instructions,"    E. 

M.  Holland  in,  67. 
"  Second  Mrs.   Tanqueray," 

J.  E.  Dodson  in,  286. 
"  Secret    Service,"    William 

Gillette  in,  174,  176,  187. 
"Secret    Warrant,"    R.    B. 

Mantell  in,  294. 
Seligman,  Minnie,  208. 
"Senator,"   William     H. 

Crane  in,  149,  164. 
"Serious   Family,"  William 

H.  Crane  in,  156. 
"  Seven-Twenty-Eight," John 

Drew  in,  92. 

Seymour,  William,  113,  147. 
"  Shadows  of  a  Great  City," 

Henry  Jewett  in,  219. 
"  Sharps  and  Flats," 
Crane,  W.  H.,  163. 
Robson,  Stuart,  163. 
"Shaughran,"   R.   B.   Man- 
tell  in,  292. 

Shaw,  Mary,  72,  113,  222. 
"  She," 

Faversham,    William, 
106. 


Gillette,  William,  187. 
Lackaye,  Wilton,  171. 
Sheridan,  William  E.,  268. 
She  Stoops  to   Conquer," 
Mantell,  R.  B.,  293. 
Mason,  John  B.,  in. 
Robson,  Stuart,  237. 
She     Would      and      She 
Wouldn't,"     John    Drew 
in,  91. 
Shenandoah," 

Lackaye,  Wilton,  172. 
Mason,  John  B.,  114. 
Miller,  Henry,  194. 
"Sheridan,"  E.  H.  Sothern 

in,  81. 
"Shore    Acres,"   James    A. 

Herne  in,  31. 
"  Siberia,"  Henry  Jewett  in, 

219. 
"  Silver  King," 

Jewett,     Henry,    216, 

217. 

Kelcey,  Herbert,  332. 
"Skating     Rink,"    N.    C. 

Goodwin  in,  132. 
"  Sketches  in  India,"  N.  C. 

Goodwin  in,  130. 
Skinner,  Charles  M.,  266. 
Skinner,  Otis,  260. 
"Snowball,"  J.  K.  Hackett 

in,  208. 

"Social    Highwayman,"   E. 
M.  Holland  in,  62,  63,  68. 
Smith,  Sol,  251. 
"Sonnambula,"    W.  H. 

Crane  in,  154. 
Sothern,  E.  A.,  70,  75. 


Sothern,    Edward 

103. 
Sothern,  Lytton,  70,  75. 


70, 


352 


Index. 


Sothern,  Sam,  70. 
"  Sowing  the  Wind," 

Faversham,  William, 

107. 

Miller,  Henry,  194. 
"  Spelling  Bee,"  J.  E.  Dod- 

son  in,  281. 
"  Squire," 

Dodson,  J.  E.,  286. 

Jewett,  Henry,  217. 

Miller,  Henry,  193. 

"Stage     Struck,"    N.    C. 

Goodwin  in,  130. 
Stevenson,  Charles,  66. 
"Still  Waters   Run  Deep," 
Dodson,  J.  E.,  286. 
Gillette,  William,  182. 
Stoddart,  James  H.,  52,  66, 

68,  207. 

"Story    of     Rodion     the 
Student,"  Richard   Mans- 
field in,  56. 
Stout,  G.  H.,  228. 
"Stranger,"  John  Drew  in, 

90. 
"Strategist,"   Henry  Jewett 

in,  216. 
"Streets    of    New    York," 

W.  H.  Crane  in,  153. 
Stuart,       Henry      Robson, 
Stuart     Robson's    name, 
223. 

Sullivan,  Barry,  292. 
"  Sunlight  and  Shadow,"  E. 

M.  Holland  in,  67. 
"Sunny    South,"    Henry 

Jewett  in,  216. 
Swain,  Carrie,  171. 
"  Sweet  Lavender," 

Faversham,  William, 
106. 


Mason,  John  B.,  114. 
Miller,  Henry,  194. 
"Swiss    Cottage,"    William 
Faversham  in,  101. 

"Taken  from  Life,"  Her- 
bert Kelcey  in,  332. 

Talbot,  W.,  228. 

"Tale  of  a  Coat,"  Sol 
Smith  Russell  in,  259. 

"Taming  of  the  Shrew," 
John  Drew  in,  90,  91. 

"Ten  Thousand  a  Year," 
Richard  Mansfield  in,  55. 

Terriss,  William,  172. 

Terry,  Edward,  281. 

Thome,  Charles,  Jr.,  116, 
137,  145,  233. 

"  Those  Bells,"  N.  C.  Good- 
win in,  132. 

"  Three  Guardsmen,"  Henry 
Jewett  in,  215. 

"  Three  Wives  to  One  Hus- 
band," E.  H.  Sothern  in, 
78. 

"  Ticket-of-Leave  Man," 
Dodson,  J.  E.,  281. 
Jewett,  Henry,  219. 
Mason,  John  B.,  114. 

"Time  Tries  All,"  W.  H. 
Crane  in,  1 56. 

"To  Nemesis,"  Henry  Jew- 
ett in,  220. 

Toole,  J.  L.,  281. 

«  Too  Much  Johnson,"  Will- 
iam Gillette  in,  174,  175, 
187. 

"Tour  de  Nesle,"  William 
Gillette  in,  182. 

"  Transgressor,"  Wilton 
Lackaye  in,  1 73. 


Index. 


353 


"Tree    of    Knowledge,"  J. 

K.  Hackett  in,  210. 
"Trilby,"    Wilton   Lackaye 

in,  1 66,  173. 
"  Trovatore,"  W.  H.  Crane 

in,  153- 
"  Turned  Up," 

Dodson,     J.     E.,     282, 

284. 

Goodwin,  N.  C.,  133. 
Hackett,  J.  K.,  206. 
Twain,  Mark,  181. 
"  Twelfth  Night," 

Crane,  W.  H.,  233,  234, 
Jewett,  Henry,  220,  222. 
Robson,  Stuart,  233, 

234- 
"Twilight,"  E.  M.  Holland 

in,  68. 
"Twins,"   J.  E.  Dodson  in, 

282. 
"Two  Men  of  Sandy  Bar," 

Stuart  Robson  in,  233. 
"  Two  Old  Boys,"  E.  M.  Hol- 
land in,  68. 
"  Two  Orphans," 

Jewett,  Henry,  216,  217. 
O'Neill,  James,  145. 
Reed,  Roland,  309. 
"Two  Roses,"  Henry   Jew- 
ett in,  219. 

«  Ultimo,"  W.  H.  Crane  in, 
156. 

"  Uncle's  Will,"  J.  E.  Dod- 
son in,  286. 

"  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"James 
A.  Herne  in,  27. 

"Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  as  It 
Is,"  Stuart  Robson  in, 
229. 


"Under  the  Red  Robe," 
William  Faversham  in, 
107. 

"  Under  Two  Flags,"  Will- 
iam Faversham  in,  102. 

Vernon,  Ida,  102. 
"Victoria    Cross,"     E.     H. 

Sothern  in,  80. 
"Vie   Parisienne,"    Richard 

Mansfield  in,  53. 
"  Villon  the  Vagabond,"  Otis 

Skinner  in,  274. 
Vincent,  Mrs.,  113. 
"Viper  on  the  Hearth,"  N. 

C.  Goodwin  in,  134. 
"  Virginia    Courtship,"    W. 

H.  Crane  in,  164. 
"Virginius,"   James  O'Neill 

in,  138. 
"  Voyagers      in      Southern 

Seas,"   Otis    Skinner    in, 

270. 

"Walda  La  mar,"  E.  H. 
Sothern  in,  78. 

Waldron,  May,  237. 

Wallack,  Lester,  112,  245. 

Wallis,  Ellen,  292. 

Walsh,  Blanche,  216,  238. 

"  Wanda,"  Henry  Jewett  in, 
218. 

Warde,  Frederick,  91. 

Warner,  Charles  Dudley, 
178. 

Warren,  William,  113,  242, 
258. 

"  Way  to  Win  a  Woman," 
E.  H.  Sothern  in,  81. 

"  Weaker  Sex,"  J.  E.  Dod- 
son in,  286. 


354 


Index. 


Weathersby,  Eliza,  131. 
Western,  Helen,  28. 
Western,  Lucille,  28. 
"What  Could  She  Do?  or 

Jealousy,"    Sol    Smith 

Russell  in,  257. 
Whiteside,  Walker,  275. 
"  Whose  are   They  ? "   (see 

"Domestic      Earth- 

quakes  "). 
"  Wife," 

Faversham,  William, 

1 06. 

Kelcey,  Herbert,  326. 
Miller,  Henry,  193. 
"Wife's    Father,"     W.    H. 

Crane  in,  164. 
Williams,  Fritz,  60. 
Winter,  William,  84. 
"Woman's  Revenge,"  Wil- 
ton Lackaye  in,  1 73. 
"  Women  of  the  Day,"  John 

Drew  in,  90. 


Wood,  Mrs.  John,  232. 

"  Wooden     Spoon,"     Otis 
Skinner  in,  271. 

"Woodleigh,"  Otis  Skinner 
in,  267. 

Woodruff,  Harry,  271. 

"  World," 

Mantell,  R.  B.,  293. 
Reed,  Roland,  309. 

"Worth  a  Million,"  W.  H. 
Crane  in,  164. 

"  Wrong  Mr.  Wright,"  Ro- 
land Reed  in,  310. 

Wyndham,  Charles,  120. 

"  Yorick's  Love,"  Otis  Skin- 
ner in,  271. 
"  Young  Mrs.  Winthrop," 

Gillette,  William,  185. 

Holland,  E.  M.,  67. 

Miller,  Henry,  192. 
"  Youth,"    Herbert    Kelcey 

in,  332. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 


Return  to  desk  from  which  borrowed. 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


FB  09  19SS 


tfC. 


UJG011974  96 

k 


Clg.oe52'"* 


21-100m-9,'47r(A5702sl6)476 


1% 

I 

I 

f" 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


